When I became a Pokemon Master
by Writer under training
Summary: When the Pokémon Master turned Mystery Man decided to come back from his solitude, he didn't expect to find a single mother, a drug addict, an arrogant Elite Four and a banished princess. In an attempt to repair the lives he destroyed, he falls in bigger trouble. Inspired by 'The Champion is Never Forgotten' Multi Ash Shipping.
1. Chapter 1

**This fic has been majorly influenced by Gerbilftw's 'The Champion is Never Forgotten.' The Ash in this story is more or less the cold Ash you see in that story. There are lot of other things that I took from that story, but trust me it's completely different. The Ash in this isn't as dark as Gerbilftw's. My Ash is just a mock version of his. But all the elements I took up from his story will be used in chapter one, so um, yeah please enjoy this story. **

**Rated T for a good amount of swearing. Might even make it M in case people find it too crude.**

**Also, there'll be a lot of 'seemingly OOCness' because the characters are subjected to conditions the canon would never do. This isn't a sequel or anything to my other story 'Road to be a Pokémon Master', it's an AU story. **

**Also this is my first time writing a somewhat dark story. I did study a good deal of dark fics, both original and fan fictions. I hope I did a good job, and do review!**

**1. Dear Ash**

Dear Ash,

It's been seven years since I last saw you. I won't ask how you've been, or where you are. I missed those days when we used to travel together. Life hasn't been the same without you. I haven't sent you a message since the last two years, because I gave up on the thought that you would ever return a reply.

I am not sending you an E-Mail; rather I am sending this hand typed letter to each and every Pokémon Center in the world, because I have realized how easy it is for you to avoid my E-Mails when my younger brother showed me how to block a user on the internet.

People have changed since the last seven years. There were good changes, and bad ones. I will mention the good ones first, just to start on a good note.

I have become a successful and accomplished Pokémon Doctor. You'd probably hear my name a lot if you are on the medical front. Misty has become one of the youngest Elite Four of Kanto, and people revere her. May has become one of the most talented coordinator in the Contest Circuit. She topped with a 2059 rating points three years ago, a feat that's still unbeatable. Dawn consistently stood in the third position below May and Robert, but her main interested shifted to Fashion Designing. She's one of the leading Fashion Designers in the world. Iris became the Dragon type Elite Four of Unova. Cilan's become one of the top Connoisseur's in the world, his services are used everywhere worldwide. He's become one of the youngest high earning stars in the world.

Max has become a wonderful Gym Leader, and his name has been considered for the Elite Fours. He treats you like a god, I must say.

But that's only the good side of the coin.

People have started to become distant ever since you disappeared into thin air. You were the glue to the book called 'us'. Now that you disappeared, the pages have been blown away from the book, and what's left is the cover page called past.

Do you remember how hot-tempered Misty was? Well just multiply that by twenty and wonder how she would be, well that's the Misty I see now. She reacts harshly for the smallest nuances, and hurt those around her. Those who didn't met her before call her (in their words) 'arrogant bitch', those who knew her a bit from before think the title got to her head, and those like me who knew her well still wonder what happened to her. I know Misty, and I don't think she would become arrogant just because she received a grand title. Something's wrong with her, and I can't find out why.

May strangely disappeared, just like you. Her ratings got pretty high three years ago. But as you know the higher they get, the harder they fall. She dropped down, and her name disappeared from the charts. Just like she did from our lives. Max found her somewhere in Hoenn, and the poor guy never recovered from what his sister had become.

Dawn, what should I say about her? She seems to be in the better position of all, but something's wrong with her. She's hiding something from us, and the last time I talked to her two years ago, she bawled out. I wish I knew more, but I don't.

Iris abandoned her title as a Dragon Master few years before I last saw her. I don't know what happened, but she dropped off the radar, once again, just like you did.

Cilan has become depressed because of Iris's situation. He knows something anyone else doesn't. He's a star, lives in an expensive home, but he's as worse as the rest of them all.

Max has become a train wreck since his sister. But he's still dedicated to his title; he says he strengthened his heart by being like you. He doesn't know he's stronger than you at heart. I am proud to have a friend like him.

As for me, Ash. I am ashamed to say that I have nothing else to worry in my life. Unlike the others, I am actually leading a happy life. In fact the reason I am sending you this letter is because I am about to get married in the next two months.

I want you to come back and change our lives again. We are waiting for you, Ash. Please bring sunlight to the darkness you have left us in.

Sincerely hoping for your return,

Brock Harrison.

* * *

"The Sunnyshore-Hearthome express will be departing soon from platform one," the voice blared through the speakers that were spread throughout the station.

The four year old boy ran through the carriage, squirming through the crowd of passengers as he excitedly took the seat his mother pointed him to. The seat was impossible to climb for him. He had to pull himself up on the empty seat. He turned around and waved, "Mom, hurry up!" It was his first train journey.

A woman pushed her way towards the seat through the crowd who were slowly settling down their seats. "Lucas, stop running like that on your own," his mother glared at him, as she settled down beside the boy, and placed the handbag on her lap. She zipped the bag open; just to verify if they took the correct seats. Her frown softened, when she realized they were sitting in the correct place.

"It'll be alright, Mom!" He jumped at her, and gave her a peck, just in case she would get angry again.

The woman smiled, and brushed the boy's blue hair, "You have to be careful when you're in places like this." She said looking into his equally blue eyes. "Strange men can come and kidnap you."

"Really?" The boy was easily scared. He hugged his mom and said, "I won't ever leave you Mom!"

The woman smiled and said, "Don't worry. I'll keep you safe from any kind of shady guy."

No sooner did she say so, a man appeared before them. The woman looked up to him. A mere glance sent a chill down her spine.

The man wore a dark brown jacket, over blue jeans. His face was partially covered by the hat he wore over his spiky raven hair. He wore suspicious black leather gloves, and carried a suspicious, seemingly heavy bag in one hand, and held a crumbled piece of paper with the other.

He was the walking definition of a 'shady person'. Her maternal instinct caused to hold her son tighter. The man wordlessly sat before her, after placing his bag under the seat.

There was no exchange of glances between them. He didn't give the chance either. As soon as the man sat down, two small creatures climbed up the seat and placed beside him.

One was the popular yellow rodent that everyone loved, and the next was a feline creature, Meowth.

She wished that Lucas wouldn't do anything stupid until the man gets down.

Unfortunately, the boy did think otherwise. "Mom, look it's a Pikachoo!" He pointed at the Pokémon, as if he made a wonderful discovery.

The woman nervously exchanged a glance with the man, who hardly moved any part of his body. He simply sat by the window, arms rested on the windowsill and the hidden eyes observing something outside.

When he felt her glance upon him, he briefly glanced at her as evident by his head movement, and smirked.

The woman's hold softened. Maybe he wasn't that bad, she thought. No evil villains carry a Pikachu, do they?

Lucas squirmed his way out his Mom's grasp and jumped down. He looked at the rodent, with a childish glee on his face. He turned to the silent trainer, "Can I touch it?" He asked, using every bit of his innocent charm. No person in the world would be able to turn down a request like that, the mother thought.

* * *

Ash looked at the boy who made the cute request. He widened his smirk once more, in acceptance. The boy's eyes widened. He jumped in joy as he prepared to grab the Pikachu.

"Pika!" The rodent glared at its trainer.

They both knew why he let the boy play with Pikachu. It wasn't because his heart was melted by the boy's expression. Rather he wanted to amuse himself watching Pikachu's reactions when the boy 'plays' with him.

"Meow," the Meowth beside him purred. Of course very few would notice the smirk on the Pokémon's face.

He rose up from his seat, and walked towards the washroom. The said Meowth followed the trainer behind, as the Pikachu attempted to squirm its way out of the boy's hold.

As soon as the trainer and the feline Pokémon were far away from the rest of the people. The man took out a cigar out of his pocket. The feline Pokémon extracted a lighter out of nowhere and lit it for the trainer.

The man took a puff and blew the smoke at the board that read 'No Smoking Allowed'.

"Meow," the Pokémon growled once more.

"Cut the act," he said taking another puff.

The Pokémon snickered at this. "Well," it spoke like any human did. "That woman over there, doesn't she look exactly like the Sinnoh Twerpette plus some ten years?"

"Nah," the man spoke with a dark voice. "It isn't her." He looked at the woman in the distance.

The woman had a beautiful blue hair tied into a bun, and wore a dull grey business suit, and had a tender smile on her face as she watched her son play with Pikachu.

"How are you so sure?" Meowth asked.

"Firstly, she's too young to have a kid. Secondly, the woman looks too boring. Dawn has a good dressing sense. Lastly, she doesn't have any Pokémon on her. She's just a funny coincidence."

"Hmm," the Pokémon nodded. What he wouldn't give if she were really the Sinnoh Twerpette. The man, his trainer always had this cool attitude nowadays. He wanted to see the riled up and emotional Ash once again. Not that he would say that aloud. "So, where's the next target?"

"Pastoria," he mumbled. "We'll have to lay low for a while. The Interpol's hot on us."

"So no talking in public?" The Pokémon asked, knowing the answer. A talking Meowth always pointed to one person.

"Yeah, and we'll be picking small time jobs," he said. He released the burnt cigar to the floor, and stepped on it. "Let's go."

* * *

Ash took the place before the blunette again. The boy, by now was annoying Pikachu to the fullest. He grabbed the Pokémon's ears and pulled it back, pretending to ride the rodent like a Ponyta.

Ash sat down again, looking at the crumbled piece of paper in his hand. He looked at it sourly, and prepared to toss the paper away through the window.

"Is that a letter?" The woman asked.

Ash threw a look at the woman. His hat obstructed her view of his face. The woman couldn't understand if she could talk or not. She simply stared at him, inquisitively.

"Yeah," he mumbled after a full five seconds. He didn't want to start a conversation with her. He hated talking with people he didn't need to.

"Wow," she chuckled, "Nobody writes them these days. Who's that from?"

He sighed a bit. There was no escaping this woman. He could walk away, but then that would raise unnecessary suspicion. "A friend," he said, "He's inviting me to a reunion." He smiled to himself. Brock's letter was more than just a request for reunion.

"Really," the woman seemed unusually excited. "Will you be going then?" She asked.

He snorted at this, "Of course not."

The woman's face turned dim like a burnt bulb. "Why?"

He glared at the woman. She's really annoying. "I don't care anymore."

The woman winced at his answer. "I see," she muttered looking down.

The woman was beautiful, Ash realized. Even with a boring business suit and hair all tied up. The bangs on her face gave him the hint of a hidden beauty. His eyes shifted to the boy playing with the rodent. He had to admit, the boy was like a sparkling diamond.

"Um," the woman tried to say something but stopped. She then extended him an arm and said with a bright smile, "My name is Platina."

Ash didn't like the direction the conversation was going on. He decided to put an end to it. He signaled the woman to come closer. She bent forward as he did the same. He then placed his lips near her ears and whispered with a cold voice, "I'd tell my name…but then, I'd have to ask if you have a death wish." The woman looked at him like a ghost when he continued, "I'll be getting down in the next station, and if I hear your annoying voice again…" he didn't continue.

He slowly backed to his seat watching the shocked woman with dark glee spreading on his lips. That would put her off for the rest of the journey.

The terrified woman tried to pull her son back, but the boy refused to move away from the Pikachu. "Lemme play some more!" He demanded.

The woman looked at him meekly. He silently nodded. She then resigned back to her seat, while putting a wary eye on the boy.

The rest of the journey was peaceful. He liked the silence, and he deserved it.

Once again, his attention shifted to Brock's letter. The letter was more annoying than anything else. It kept rolling his thoughts like a Donphan plowing through the fields. How worse did things go in these seven years? A part of him asked.

But he shouldn't care anymore. The new Ash never gave a shit about anyone else but himself and his Pokémon. And yet—

A soft touch on his knee took his attention. He observed the woman before him stiffen. It was a natural reaction, because her son was holding onto his legs. He was looking straight into Ash's eyes with those innocent blue eyes of his. "You look sad," the boy said.

Ash stiffened at once. His hands involuntarily curled into a fist, and his eyes glared at the boy with extreme hatred. His lips thinned into a line, giving the woman before a clear indication that the boy's comment ticked him off.

"Lucas," the woman grabbed the boy and pulled him back, hugging him in a protective manner.

Ash shifted his gaze from the woman and looked into the window. The train seemed to be slowing down. Pastoria was approaching, and so was his next target.

Ash rose up, and silently took his bag. Without even giving the mother and son as much as a glance, he left the place.

* * *

"Lucas," the woman heaved in relief that her son was safe. The man looked dangerous and had two Pokémon on him, while she had none, and had a son to protect. "Don't ever do that again," she told her son.

"But Mom," the boy said, "He looked really sad. Did his grandmother die too?"

The woman didn't know what to answer. She didn't even know who the man was, and she was sure she wouldn't see him again. She put a wry smile and said, "Yes." It was the least complicated answer.

"Then," the boy's eyes widened. He knew exactly what to do in situations like this.

* * *

"That kid's correct," Meowth spoke as the trio came out.

The train's door closed behind Ash, as he walked forward, without waiting for the Pokémon behind him.

"You aren't as emotionless as you think," Meowth grinned, as he sprinted to catch up.

His footsteps stopped. He threw the feline Pokémon a cold glance, "The next time you try to speak about it, I'll cut that annoying tongue of yours and throw it to Swellow."

The Pokémon seemed offended at this, "Do you think you can use your lame threats on me?" He protested.

Ash sighed. Meowth knew, the last thing he would do is hurt his Pokémon.

"Let's go," he said walking forward. But as they walked past a magazine stand, something happened.

"Hey Mister," the boy in the train shouted through the open window. Ash turned around, and spotted the woman desperately trying to pull the boy down. But the boy didn't heed his mother, he simply shouted at the top of his lungs.

"No need to worry, everything will be all right!"

Ash's body froze as if struck by a Glalie's blizzard. His jaws opened involuntarily, and his hold on the bag he carried seemed to weaken.

The train started to move slowly. But Ash's dazed eyes kept looking at the boy and his Mom in awe. He simply stood like a pole for a while as the train moved, and the boy disappeared from his sight.

He turned to his left like a ghost. His eyes fell on the magazine stand. His eyes immediately caught a fashion magazine.

On the cover page was the woman he was with till now. Beside her stood a Buneary dressed in a miniature gown. Under the woman's photo he saw three words that confirmed his doubts.

Dawn 'Platina' Berlitz.

Platina was her nickname.

**So how was it? Good, nice, excellent? : P**

**I didn't reveal a lot of things, but a small hint. This is after Ash becomes a Pokemon Master. He faces something that breaks his heart and forces him to change.**

**Anyway, this story isn't just Pokeshipping or PearlShipping or Advanceshipping or Negai Shipping. This is a pure shipping story that manages to pull in many shippings together (yeah more than these four). I know it's hard, but hey let's try!**

**Also those who are eagerly waiting for an update for Road to be a Pokémon Master, the next chapter is already done and needs proof reading. It'll be up by tomorrow!**

**I'm already handling four fics now, this will be my fifth. Wish me good luck guys so that I can update all of them with equal justice.**


	2. The Woman that I once knew

**A note: I will kinda put the characters of my story through a lot. You might see your favorite cheerful girl as a completely distressed one. The characters in the story act different than the canon. If you find something like your favorite character shown in a negative light, do remember that I'm the guy who believes everybody in the world is a good person, there are only bad decisions. I absolutely won't bash a certain character as I saw in few other fics.**

**2. The woman I once knew…**

"Nyaaa~"

With a long yawn the feline woke up, rubbing his eyes. He was still feeling groggy thanks to the efforts he had to put in last night.

He expected the human he liked to annoy, his trainer be sleeping beside him. Instead, his eyes fell on the yellow rodent, who happened to be in deep sleep. The rodent was all curled up, including the tail that it liked to put away from harm's way.

Rubbing his eyes he took another yawn as he got down from the bed. His boss always had the bottle of milk prepared for Meowth no matter where they went and today was no exception.

A smile spread across his face, as he took the bottle. He used the claws on his right hand to pierce the cap, and then pulled it out. It was a casual habit of his, one he was used to since he joined this new boss.

The sound of running water from the bathroom caught his attention. _'He must be taking a shower.'_

The curtains were closed, the sunlight failed to light the room. It couldn't be helped that the boss purposefully chose a room with poor ventilation.

The room was dark, except for the light coming from above the table.

He jumped upon the table, and settled down before the glowing object. It was the boss's Laptop. He sat down before the electronic device and took control over the computer in no time. It wasn't anything unusual. In fact Meowth knew more about his laptop than the boss himself. The boss was bad at handling tech-stuff in the beginning. But like guns, knives, death threats he happened to learn to use the laptop too.

"Pi," the yellow rodent seemed to wake up at the sound of him tapping the keyboard. He drowsily looked around and spotted Meowth by the laptop.

"Good morning," he greeted the Pokémon as their eyes met.

"Pika Pika," the Pokémon muttered sourly in reply. It stretched its body and purred.

"I suppose," he said. It really wasn't that bright of a day.

Yesterday's mission was a simple one. All they had to do was give a certain someone a warning about putting the fence around his neighbor's marshland. What of course most don't know was that there was no neighbor. The marshland belonged to the government of Sinnoh, but of course now it belonged to their 'client'.

The job was quite trivial, not close to their usual ones. But they had to lay low, but need money at the same time.

The sound from the shower ceased, and a man wrapped in a towel walked out. He took another piece of cloth, and began to dry his hair clean. For some reason, however, he stopped whatever he was doing and sat down on the bed.

He sat silently for a second, and then sighed.

"Is this about the Twerpette?" Meowth asked, not hiding the cunning smile on his face. He preferred it that way.

"I said it once," he said, taking in a deep breath, "And I'll say it again. I don't care about some random woman."

"Is that why? You spent more than one hour on the internet," Meowth turned around to the laptop, and began clicking something.

A smile crept onto his face as he saw the page before him, "Look, your browsing history's been filled with the _same_ name." He scrolled down a bit, "Dawn Berlitz, Dawn Platina, Dawn, Dawn Hearthome, Dawn Coordinator," he paused, and grinned. "Looks like you're all over the girl."

He scoffed at this, brushing away Meowth's comment. "I think it's you going all over your head."

"Care to explain?" He asked. He could see the boss's know-it-all tone in his voice.

"Our next target is the stock manager in the Hearthome's Live with style. Guess who owns the building?" he said, "He's got some rare Pokémon, a Buizel with golden fur or something."

"Yuck!" Meowth pretended to vomit; it was easy because he ate Ash's cooking more than once. "That's really lame. That's what Team Rocket does. I can't believe the world strongest trainer is doing something like _this._"

"Trust me," Ash said, "Even I hate this. We're low on money. We could steal a bank, but remember the Interpol?"

The problem with the boss was, he didn't want to soil the name 'Ash Ketchum' even if he was nothing like the kid the name referred to. The Interpol may be after them, but the only thing they knew about him was that a mysterious man and a talking Meowth swindled people left and right.

"Fine, fine," Meowth grumbled. "I have a lame life no matter where I go." He ignored the fact that he had moo-moo milk a few minutes earlier.

* * *

Seven years passed since the Pokémon Master disappeared. A lot of things changed but his home town Pallet Town remained the same.

The fresh morning wind passed over the green field of grass, swaying them at its whim. The Dodrio that perched over a farmer's out house gave its morning cry. Pidgey flew around in flocks, soaring in the air, looking around for the prey, the little bugs. Rattata scurried from one place to the other, carefully avoiding being spotted by any larger bird like Pidgeotto and Fearow.

The gentle stream that ran behind the Oak's ranch was a welcome sight to almost every Pokémon.

The tired Tauros came occasionally to sip the water. Poliwhirl rested on the damp rocks, watching the little Poliwag jump in and out of the water. Grass-type Pokémon like Breloom have a gentle nap, basking in the sunlight, the source of their energy.

Bug types like Masquerain and Ledian hovered over the beautiful flowers.

Amidst all this, young and frolicking nine year old Ted raced through the ranch, towards the Professor's house.

"Professor!" He yelled. "I finished feeding the Pokémon!" He yelled, an empty trolley was seen behind the boy.

The door connecting the ranch to the lab opened. "Already?" Asked the Professor, who came out. He wasn't old or had white hair like most people assume. Instead, he had a brown hair, a look that puts many women at unease. He was Gary Oak, the grandson of the former Professor.

"Yep," Ted jumped.

Gary smiled at his attitude. He was what one would say a mix between himself and Ash. He has the same annoying attitude like Ash but he plans well before whatever he did, like Gary. He was only a few months closer to his tenth birthday, and eager to become the next Pokémon Master. This was precisely why he was helping out Gary in the lab.

"I have a question Ted," Gary said. "Which Pokémon would you choose as your starter?"

"Oh, that?" Ted's eyes brightened at the question. "A Pikachu of course. I want to be cool like Ash Ketchum."

Gary chuckled at this. Ash was anything but cool when he first had Pikachu. "I'm afraid that's not possible though," he said. "A lot of trainers have been catching Pikachu, and demanding them as starters. It's better if you go with the standard three."

Pikachu have become rarer in Viridian since the last seven years. Thanks to one Ash Ketchum.

"Aw," the boy looked disappointed. "I wanted to be like Ash." He sighed, lowering his head in defeat. He asked, "They say he belongs to Pallet. But I've never seen him once in my life. Why do you think?"

Gary was surprised by the question. Even he didn't have the proper answer for that. "Why indeed."

But did he really not know the answer? Gary asked himself again.

In fact he did, and he was responsible for Ash leaving Pallet in a way. It was because of his foolishness, that both Ash and he had to suffer. If he hadn't said those words, then everything would have been alright.

If only he wasn't so stubborn at accepting the facts.

* * *

The heavy bag was set down on the terrace opposite Hearthome's Live with Style. The owner unzipped the bag. It wasn't filled with knives and guns as one might assume. Well it did have a knife, but that's just about it. Instead it was filled with Pokéball, about fifty of them, hooked neatly to a foldable partition inside the bag.

"So which ones will you be taking?" Meowth asked, he watched the building though his binoculars.

Ash contemplated for a while, "Just one for escaping out, you and Pikachu. The security's shit."

"Agreed," Meowth said. He then mocked, "I really worry for your Twerpette."

"My Twerpette?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you seemed to have carefully chosen a target near her. Is that a coincidence?"

"The Agent decided the target. Not me," he frowned. He turned to the building, "Alright. Here's the plan.

The show starts at 10 A.M. We still have an hour, which is plenty. Pikachu and you will go in first, mix with the dress-up Pokémon. Pikachu will take the power out. It's bound to create some panic. I'll get in disguised as an electrician in five minutes. The generator will be up in ten. You will find the target by the time I enter. Is five enough for you?" He asked Meowth.

"I suppose you're forgetting whom you are dealing with here," Meowth said confidently, playing with his whiskers.

"Says the cat which couldn't catch a mouse in his life," Ash quipped.

"Speaks the guy who drools for someone else's wife," Meowth retorted, referring to a certain blunette.

"Dawn? She isn't married," Ash frowned. "I know so."

"Oh, and you definitely don't care for her," Meowth showed no hint of holding his sarcasm back. "So you wanna take the girl or something?"

"No," he shook his head. "I've no interest in her. And I hate kids. Now stop yapping and go. I'll follow you guys, take the Pokémon, and get the heck out of here. Get that buddy?"

"Pika," Pikachu nodded.

Before long, he spotted Meowth and Pikachu sprinting into the establishment that stood before him, avoiding any notice. He smiled, pleased that things were going as per plan. It was his turn now.

He took the lift down stairs. As the lift went down idle thoughts began to slip into his mind. Meowth's taunts were getting to him.

It was true that Dawn's unmarried. He looked it up on the internet. Then who did the kid belong to? Judging by the fact that she was three-four years younger than him, she should be around 20 or 21 depending on the birthday. Her son looked like he could be five or something. So that would make her pregnant at 15? Okay, in the best case she would be sixteen if he judged the kid's age wrong. But still that's too young. Who the heck was that kid's father anyway?

Was that the creepy Conway? Or Barry? Or _Nando?_ Or Harley?! Oh wait, it could be Kenny.

Yeah, the kid was chubby just like Kenny. So, it was Kenny that damn—

Wait, why was he getting worked about it? He doesn't care about it, right?

"Damn you, Meowth," he cursed.

The elevator opened up, and he found himself standing opposite the establishment that belonged to Dawn.

The place looked freaking classy. The entire front was covered by black tinted glass, decorated by a large hoarding by the name 'Live with Style' written in a pink stylish letters, with a floral pattern here and there. A couple of photo stills of a few famous models and Pokémon stood below the name.

Judging by the outlook itself, the place looked very expensive. The fact that it stood in the center of the city doubled his impressions of its price. How much money does Dawn have, anyway?

"Probably a lot," he muttered.

He waited, hoping the power to go down anytime soon. He had a couple of pliers, wire strippers, Voltmeters, and what not neatly packed in a grey bag, and wore a make-believe grey uniform, and a matching hat that partially covered his face like he always wanted.

Just as he took a step on the main road, a shower of sparks was seen somewhere from behind, and immediately the numerous lights inside the building died out one by one. The building was fitted with black tinted windows, making everything inside dim even in broad daylight. He liked Dawn's taste for that one. It made his life easy.

A couple of screams were heard when the fuse seemed to be blown off thanks to a certain rodent. The security outside, hurried and walked in, wondering what went wrong.

Using the chance Ash walked straight inside.

No sooner did he take a couple of steps, he bumped into a stout man speaking to someone in his mobile. Seeing the 'electrician' he paused, "You are quick to catch on, who the heck called you?" He asked.

"Mr. Schrodinger," Ash said, casually. The said man was the in-charge of the building maintenance.

"Oh," the man nodded. "I told him, we don't need any mishaps today. It's a big day for Platina," he rolled his eyes. "Well," he showed Ash the way, "Hurry up."

Ash frowned, and nodded. When the stout man wasn't seeing he ducked to the left side of the building. He had to take a right turn to check what an electrician was supposed to do. Instead, he took a steady left and walked through a door that said, 'Staff Only.'

The door led to a set of rooms assigned to the performers, and the other staff.

He walked past many doors, which were allotted to various stars for the day. He silently recited each name, searching for the stock manager.

He did send Meowth to do the same, but it didn't hurt to double check, right?

And as he moved so, he came across the board he wanted to ignore and move on very badly. Consequently, it meant that he wanted to stop there.

_Platina._

His footsteps ceased. This was Dawn's room. The same girl he used to travel with. Back then, she didn't have much self-confidence at first, but she kept pushing herself with the words 'Everything will be alright!' In the end she did become self-confident.

But the woman he saw that day wasn't her. She was a much weaker one. She was easily threatened. The Dawn he knew would never—

"I don't approve of this behavior," a raised female voice startled Ash back from his thought world. The voice shivered, Ash noted. Without a doubt, it belonged to Dawn. So, was someone in here with her?

He arched his ears to the door. Something was going on inside, and it didn't smell good.

"Oh, really Miss Platina?" This time, it was a male voice. The voice was almost a whisper, like the hissing of an Ekans. "Cooperate with me," it was full of lustful glee. "Or do you want the world to know your dirty secret?"

"Get away from me," she seemed to plead. The faint sounds of struggle didn't fail to catch his attention. "I'll call the police."

"Oh, you will? And shame yourself?" The man laughed at this. "Nah, Nah. Now come closer—"

Knock. Knock.

Two perfect knocks on the door stopped the conversation going on inside. The soft noises and the whispers from the inside disappeared. Instead, silence took the place in its stead.

After a silent contemplation, the door finally opened, revealing a man in his thirties. "Who the heck are you?" He asked, his expression full of irritation.

"I'm an electrician," he lifted his kit and showed it to the man. "I was called to fix things."

The man was about to say something to refuse but Ash pushed the door open. "Excuse me for disturbing," he said to a silhouette in the darkness. The room, despite being daytime was darkened.

As soon as he did so, the silhouette moved, and something walked past him out of the room briskly. He watched as a certain blunette on high heels raced out through the corridor quickly, wiping her face.

At that moment a beep in his ear disturbed the silence for him. "I found the target's room. It's in the second floor. Poor guy got a cabin in the corner. It was hard to spot you know. Reminds me of my own position in Team Rocket back then." The voice spoke pretty fast. It was Meowth.

"Good. I'll be in a minute," Ash muttered into the device attached to his sleeve. He then glared at the man standing before him.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" The man demanded. "Just go and fix whatever you want," he said apparently looking frustrated.

"Sure," he smirked.

* * *

Minutes later, Ash was on the second floor. The power has already been restored temporarily, by the generator. It wouldn't be long before it would stop running though. He had a Pokémon to make sure of that.

"You're late," Meowth said, as Ash examined the room. It was really deep in a corner, away from any other rooms. It was close to the stock room that was further inside. A perfect place to run illegal transactions. The target was a stock-manager after all. A couple of cartons were set outside the stock room. Evidently, the workers here were either lazy or the stock room was full. "Don't tell me you spent that time for—"

"Shut up," Ash said, slowly. The authority in the voice told Meowth it was wiser to be silent for now.

"Anyway, I put him to sleep with Hypnosis," Meowth remarked. "He's easier than I thought. Here's the Pokéball," Meowth tossed the ball at Ash.

"You stole him with the Pokéball?" Ash scoffed, catching it. That's really pathetic.

Meowth shrugged in response. "We better leave before the security gets suspicious," Meowth said.

"Typhlosion will be doing it anytime soon," Ash muttered, with a smirk on his face. As per the plan, Typhlosion will fire the generator, use Smokescreen and wait for him, while he jumps out soon. They still had five minutes left for that to happen.

"So," Meowth asked, as they looked around for anyone unwanted hearing the conversation. The floor was empty, because most of the activities happen in the first floor. The second floor was mostly for stocking purposes. "What made you late?"

Ash opened his mouth to say something but then—

He felt something shift in the corner of his eyes. He jerked to the left, where the cartons were placed, only to find that one of them just budged from its position. Whoever, or whatever it was, they were behind the cartons.

"Wait," Ash silenced the Pokémon. Something was up there.

He curled his hands into a fist, and slowly walked towards the carton that seemed to move. He couldn't afford any witnesses. Of course he wouldn't do anything like kill them. Putting them to sleep would be more than enough. His hands were enough for that.

He didn't know what was behind, but he needed to get rid of it. He closed his eyes and let a blue strength fill his body. The blue strength coursed through his veins, like flood water. When he opened the eyes once more, they were no longer brown. Instead, they were a serene blue that reminds you of the ocean.

His eyes saw more than what they can see. His ears heard more than what they can hear. His hands carried strength beyond its limit.

Without a doubt, the thing behind the carton is a human, the mind's eye told. It was crouched down, shaking in fear.

He placed one hand on the carton. In an unbelievably swift motion, he yanked the carton away with his left hand and threw his right fist straight at the person behind.

"Please don't hurt me!"

The yell stopped Ash in his tracks. But it wasn't just the yell that stopped him. Rather, it was the owner of the voice that stopped him. Behind the carton was an unexpected surprise for him. It was a boy, about four or five, who crouched down chin to his knees, with eyes closed and jaws clenched.

"F-F…" Ash barely held himself from uttering the curse.

The boy turned up and stared into his light blue, cold eyes. But for some reason, the fear in his eyes disappeared and his eyes widened in recognition. "Hey you are the guy from the train!"

"Aw crap!" Meowth exclaimed. "The kid's identified you."

The boy cocked his head to the left, "D-Did that Meowth just talk?"

"Screw you," Ash muttered, glaring at Meowth and turned to the kid. "What the heck are you doing here?" Ash asked, shaking the boy's attention to him.

The boy scratched his head and said, "I was playing hide and seek with Mom and someone called her. She'll be—"

"No, no," Ash hit his head. His mind's eye told him that something else was approaching them through the stairs and they were too late to hide. A certain blunette came into his vision the next instant.

Her footsteps slowed when she noticed her son, along with a suspicious looking electrician and a Meowth. She didn't have anything against Meowth. They were as cute as Skitty but a certain Meowth just ruined her impression on them. What she didn't know was that the same Meowth now stood before her.

"Lucas?" She called the boy, while looking at the electrician who held him doubtfully.

"Mom. Look," the boy however was oblivious to the situation. "It's the man from the train." He added with an innocent smile.

Ash noticed the woman holding her breath. "Don't yell," he said curtly before she could open her mouth. "Or I'm gonna snap his neck." The warning silenced the boy too, who understood the severity of it, despite his age.

"No," the woman shook her head fervently, apparently panicked. "I-I'll do whatever you say."

Looking at her like that surprised Ash. It was a genuine concern a mother would show. So yeah, this boy wasn't her cousin's son or something. It was hers. Genuinely.

"I, um," Ash was about to say something else but he couldn't utter a word. He was simply dumbstruck. He knew Dawn was the kid's mother for quite a while but somewhere along he had the slight hope that this might not be true.

It's just hard to believe that the woman before him was her. But now that he realized, she resembled Johanna more than ever. Except Johanna tied her up in what seems like a turban, while the woman before him tied it into a bun.

"Meoow," a certain Meowth purred, warning its trainer.

The raven haired Pokémon Boss snapped to attention. "I'll be going then," he said, a wry smile on his face.

Meowth gave an awkward glance at his trainer. _'I'll be going then?'_ What? Was this a date or something?

Ash pushed the boy away and sprinted for the first floor. It was about time for Typhlosion to attack the generator and blow the smokescreen.

He turned back one last time as he saw Dawn rush for the kid and hug him. This wasn't what he was expecting.

"Fuck," he muttered as he turned front.

* * *

"This breaking news is exclusively brought to you by Sinnoh Now!" The reporter named Rhonda spoke excitedly. "As you see—" She showed the scene behind her.

The building named 'Live with Style', which once sported a grand look had a couple of broken windows, out of which a thick grey smoke was trailing off.

"An unknown person has attacked Miss Platina's Live with Style. What you are seeing now is a smokescreen caused by a fire-type Pokémon. Luckily no one has been harmed." She then walked a bit. "And here we have Mr. Rhodes, managing partner of Lucas Fashions."

At that point, a man with a rather swollen, pink nose appeared before the camera. He held an ice pack against his nose, and winced in pain in the process.

"I was hit in the face by this damn guy!" He exclaimed. "I wish I got a glimpse of his rotten face. The law wouldn't spare scoundrels like him."

"Surprisingly," Rhonda turned around taking the mic back, "Nothing was stolen or lost. Could it have been an attempt to ruin the show? Well, it certainly worked because Miss Platina has called off for the day. We heard she's on her way to Twinleaf Town."

"Funny," Meowth scoffed as they watched the report. "We stole a goddamn rare Buizel, and threatened a kid. Nobody reports that?"

They were now in the Hearthome station, watching the T.V as they waited for the train to their next destination, which hasn't been decided yet.

"The Buizel was smuggled in the first place. Nobody would complain about it," Ash pointed out. "And about the other thing. Dawn's too scared to do that."

"Oh well forget that, but this guy," Meowth laughed at the man on the screen, "He's totally unrelated to us, right? I mean—" He then paused, and threw the trainer an inquisitive glance. "Did you hit that guy?"

Ash buried his face in his hands, and muttered. "He was harassing her. I don't even have a freaking clue why."

The news startled the feline for a second. But he frowned and asked, "I thought you didn't care."

Ash shifted his glance away from Meowth. "Me too," he mumbled. He paused briefly before speaking, "Brock was correct about her. If he's right about Dawn…" he slumped back on the bench, on the platform they waited. "I don't know."

Meowth narrowed his eyes. He was finally speaking the truth. In fact, Ash had been worried about it since the first day itself. "Are you—?"

"I'm not going to Pallet." He dropped abruptly. He threw the Pokémon a sharp glare. "And no, don't think I'm worrying about them."

"Sure," Meowth said. "Let's delude like that for a few more days."

"I'm speaking the truth," Ash said firmly. "Well it's true. I'm not as emotionless as I think, but I don't want to help them. Not after that."

"Pikapi," Pikachu looked worried.

"You're worrying us, Ash," Meowth said. "Don't try to be the person you are not. You've acted enough already. Why don't you listen to us? Your Pokémon?"

The Pokémon Master remained silent at this. "Is that what you want too?" He turned to Pikachu. The rodent jumped up to his lap, and placed either of its hands on his cheeks and pulled them.

"You want me to be happy?" He smiled, understanding the rodent's signs. He lifted the Pokémon up and placed it on his shoulder. "I don't know if I can be like that again. I'm sorry I'm not the Ash you like. But I'll see what I can do."

* * *

"It's nice to see you again, Dawn," the hunch backed old man said. His face was placid, devoid of any expression. He was the same stern, Professor Rowan who despite his age still clung onto his title as the Pokémon Professor.

"I'd like to take the Pokémon I left in your care," the said woman sat across Professor Rowan. There was a small smile on her face, but one would notice that she's nervous if they were to notice the fingers that clutched onto her handbag that rested on her lap.

"Of course," the Professor said, "But I presume you left them because it's harder to take care of them while raising Lucas?"

"Yes," she said. Her eyes were crestfallen, "It's more like a necessity now."

"Is something wrong?" The elderly Professor caught the melancholy in her face.

She smiled at that, "It's nothing," she said shaking her head. "It's just that I, uh, I'm feeling insecure."

The Professor wasn't so convinced, but he nodded anyways. "Fine," he said.

* * *

The drive from Sandgem to Twinleaf was short. Dawn went to the Professor's and came back to Twinleaf within half an hour. She had left Lucas in the house, alone with the nanny she hired for today.

It was her paranoia. But the same mysterious guy appeared twice before her. Whoever he was, it wasn't safe to be unarmed against him. She thought about applying for a licensed revolver, but then decided against it. Lucas was too much of a prankster, if the revolver were to fall in his hands. The mere thought caused her to shudder. That's why she decided to bring her Pokémon back.

She parked the vehicle in the garage, and walked into the familiar house. It was the same house she grew up in, the same house her mother died in, and the same house she wanted to stay the rest of her life.

It was seven in the evening. The sky was already dark. She reminded herself to ask the wanna-be trainer next door to help bring some groceries. The boy was seven years old, and Lucas's best friend. He liked to help her out, and she returned him the favor by treating him with something or the other.

She placed her hand on the doorknob and prepared to twist it to open. She realized, the living room was too dark.

Didn't Lucas or the nanny turn the lights on?

Putting her doubts aside, she opened the door and entered in.

_'Everything's all right,'_ she comforted herself. She was just being paranoid. All she had to was just turn the lights on, turn on the television, cook dinner, and fall asleep. That's all!

Thinking so, she moved towards the switchboard, and turned the switch on. With a small flicker, the tube lights turned on. She then turned back to walk towards the T.V, and watch some random soap. But as soon as she turned around—

"Good Evening, Miss Platina," it was the man in the brown jacket whom they met in the train yesterday. "Or should I call you, Dawn?"

Her fears were confirmed. The dangerous guy's here.

* * *

**The chapter might have seemed fast paced. The first few chapters are perhaps the only ones that will be like this. Things might go slow from the next chapter.**

**As for _Road to be a Pokemon Master_: The new chapter will be delayed by a day or two or maybe even three. Don't worry, it's still my main project.**


	3. His Dad

**Hiya! Haven't updated this baby in a while. So decided to do so now. Anyway, the reason for delay is well I believe the last chapter sucked a bit. So I decided to make this one a bit better?**

**3. His Dad**

Dawn's thought moved like an express train. She had three options. One, to fight the man before her. Two, run away. Three, submit to him and try finding a way out of the situation. She could have chosen option one or two without thought if Lucas weren't here. Judging by the way he confidently settled down in her living room, he must have held Lucas captive.

"What do you want?" She asked. Despite her efforts, her voice quivered in fear.

The man simply smiled at this simply because he was in a position to do so. He lifted his hat slightly, making her heart almost stop in panic. For a second, the unruly raven-hair reminded her of a certain person from seven years ago. She was obviously mistaken, because this man's eyes were eerily blue instead of brown. She didn't take much of a look into his face, owing to intimidation.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he muttered pointing his fingers at her left hand that slowly slid towards the handbag containing Pokéball. He nodded towards the bed room upstairs.

'_Lucas.'_ She realized.

Her hands slithered back in fear. She tried taking a deep breath, but realized her heart was beating fast enough to make even that uncomfortable. The tension in her heart seeped into her mind, and it suddenly seemed like the whole world was dancing around her.

"Sit down," he said with a voice that was almost a whisper.

She shouldn't follow his orders. If she does so, then her chances of escaping would slim down to zero. She had to try something clever to divert his attention, instead of sitting down as he ordered.

Despite that Dawn sat down on the couch opposite his. It wasn't much of a good distance in case he assaults her, but it was the farthest possible given the constraints.

"What do I want, eh?" He smiled again. Although the smile seemed to be more out of derision, she only saw it as a wicked smile. "I want you to answer some questions."

* * *

Much as he didn't enjoy the conversation going on, Ash was in fact smiling at Dawn's reaction. It was understandable because people seldom break into your house and threatens your life just to ask few questions.

Her expression was a mixture of scared and quizzical. It was a good mixture, if you need answers. "What were you doing in that room with Mr. Rhodes?"

The woman's expression changed pretty quickly once again. Pushing away the part-quizzical look, her face turned red, mostly out of anger. Her eyebrows joined in a small frown, but she was careful enough to hold back her anger. "Who sent you?" Despite meek, the voice was sharp.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "Just answer the question."

She shook her head. "That's not possible," she said, looking defeated.

Her reaction more or less confirmed Rhodes's fate. It was obvious that the said person was harassing her and she wasn't in the position to reveal it outside.

"Look," he said leaning down towards her. "We could do this the easy way," he kept his gaze steady on her. "Or the hard way."

She took an exasperated sigh, lowering her head helplessly. She pulled the strings of hair back, out of habit, and looked at him once more, this time with moist eyes. "What is that you people get out of harassing me like this?"

The question got the Pokémon Master off-guard. He expected her to give some reaction but not this. She might not say it aloud, but right now he must be some scum-bag being paid money to torture her.

He shouldn't be feeling bad about it. He was used to being treated like that. That's because he had indeed been a kind of a scum-bag around people. And yet he felt bad somewhere.

"Stop crying," he said, not out of concern. "Like I said, I want answers."

This only worsened the situation. The woman was now completely drenched in tears. "What have I ever done wrong in my life?" She lamented to herself, ignoring him. She was trying her best to keep her face dry but the flood waters seemed to wash down the slight make up. It was amazing how women do these things subconsciously, even in danger.

Things were getting uncomfortable for Ash. He certainly didn't foresee that. Actually, ever since his days as a Pokémon trainer he never foresaw anything. Getting into a battle without thinking, and then thinking on his feet and coming up with a surprise strategy was his style. But of course, crying women were altogether on a different level.

He was honestly pissed at himself given the situation. He could've easily revealed himself as Ash and comfort her. Things could've been much easier had he done that, but unfortunately he was too stubborn for his own good.

"Stop crying," he said, raising his voice a bit. But it wasn't enough to stop her.

"I said," he hissed. "Stop crying!"

Dawn instinctively closed her mouth, stopping any outflow through her tear ducts. She looked at him, comprehensively in fear.

He felt something on the upstairs watching him. '_Meowth,'_ he identified without even looking in the direction. The feline Pokémon was obviously interested with the whole ordeal.

Ash rubbed his temples. He hated doing this. He absolutely hated doing this. This was why he never tried to meet anyone in seven years. He didn't want them to see this persona of his. It was the polar opposite of the optimistic, cheerful and kind Ash Ketchum. "Look Dawn," he didn't lower his voice. "I'm giving you five minutes to answer all my questions, okay?"

She nodded fervently, her hands still on her lips. "Put them down," he signaled.

She looked into the ground, as if looking for help. "H-He was harassing me…." She said weakly.

"Why?" He asked.

"Why?" She gave him a wry smile.

He smacked himself understanding the folly behind his question. "I mean," he muttered. "Why the hell didn't you tell the police?"

"I," she said, taking a deep breath. Perhaps, she was getting used to the idea of sharing the story and using the opportunity to let it all out. "I used his name in Lucas's trainer school entry."

"What?" Ash was blank on that.

The blunette looked at him, puzzled if she was talking to a cold-blooded criminal or a natural idiot. But she was in no position to mock him. So she proceeded to explain. "The trainer school entry registry requires you to name both parents. They're very particular about that because it's a dangerous field to take."

Ash realized he never knew about this. What did his mother do when she had to enroll his name for the Pokédex? The question was altogether painful without the answer itself.

* * *

Dawn noticed a strange kind of softness returning into the man's eyes. He was slipping up, she noticed. It'd be better if she continued to speak along the same lines.

"I wanted a name to fill the Father's name," she said, not hiding any anguish she felt over the past few years. There was no reason to hold it back, especially when it was going to benefit her. "Rhodes's is my managing partner. He's the closest person to me. I never thought he'd take advantage of that."

She felt the tension in him rising up. '_Just who the hell is he?'_ She wondered.

* * *

"Lucas knows Rhodes isn't his father," she said. "But he knows why I can't use his real father's name. At least I assume he does."

It was presumptuous. He was a little kid. How the heck would he understand something so complex? Just listening to this woman's story was making Ash crazy. Her using Rhodes's name as Lucas's father was obviously a secret and was perhaps only written in the school application form, because his research on her didn't reveal anything about her and Rhodes. She obviously wants the secret to be guarded.

That guy…he shouldn't be forgiven.

"Then who is Lucas's Dad?" He asked. It was a good question. She was in a mess because she wrote someone else's name, then why the hell did she write so in the first place.

"Because," she said, hiding her face away from his. "No one would believe me."

"What?" Ash was blank once more.

"No one would believe," she mumbled. "If I say Ash Ketchum is my son's biological father."

If you were standing by the ocean, when suddenly, without a warning, a giant wave of tsunami crashed on your face, then how would you feel?

That was exactly how Ash Ketchum felt at that moment.

His face went pale. His mouth was wide-opened in shock. He didn't even realize that he stood up in shock at that moment. "W-W-W…" Words seemed to slip his mind. Never did the English language seem so sparse until that moment.

He was so much in shock that he didn't see Dawn's hands slipping into her bag.

* * *

Even Meowth was stunned at that moment. He was outside the kid's bedroom, half-listening to their conversation, half-watching the kid. He hypnotized the nanny to sleep, but he was scared to do so on a four-year old. He didn't want to mess up with the boy's mental health.

But now, he was looking at the couple, his mind still reeling in shock from the news that just came out.

That Twerpette was lying, Meowth thought. No, she _must_ be lying. Ash was away for seven years, and the kid was not more than four. Nope, there was no way the kid would be the boss's son.

He looked at the kid, who was playing with a toy train inside the room, oblivious to all that was happening downstairs. This kid was the boss's son? He was awestruck.

It could be true, he realized. The energetic face, the optimistic smile, and the desire to become a Pokémon trainer, all that was akin to the 'real' Ash.

Speaking of which, he looked at the boss again. His façade was breaking away. Ever since Ash left Pallet seven years ago, he constantly kept up a new personality. Instead of always bursting with energy like he used to, he turned into a silent emotionless person. It was a fake persona. Something he was ordered to. After seven years of being this 'fake' Ash, he was actually more than used to this personality. He could keep up this façade even in life-threatening situations. But—

It seems the Twerpette shook the pillars of the façade and brought out the real one with one simple sentence.

Meowth didn't know if he should be happy or sad right now.

* * *

She's lying.

Lying. Lying. Lying. Lying. Lying.

There was zero probability of that happening. He didn't meet Dawn in seven years. He never ever misbehaved with her, let alone _sleep_ with her.

"You're lying," he gnashed his teeth.

The woman's eyes were moist. It was her damn weapon, he thought. "I said you wouldn't believe it," she said.

"Of course I won't," he snapped. He was Ash-freaking-Ketchum. How the hell could he have a son he didn't know of? Not when his sexual life almost amounted to zero.

The woman instead, glared at him defiantly. She might be terrified of him, but she won't tolerate if he denied her statement, her eyes said.

It enraged him more.

He sprang forward and grabbed her by the shirt. He looked directly into her eyes. "You're lying," he repeated like a madman.

Her voice was rasped in fear. "N-No." Despite that, she was firm.

She was confident. Impossible.

Ash's hold on the woman seemed to slip away. The world seemed to tumble. In fact, it was him stuttering to stand up straight. What the woman said was impossible, but she was more than confident, even when threatened by him.

Could things change if he revealed he was Ash?

No, more than that. Why the hell didn't she identify him even when he was up so close? Had his cold persona changed him so much that one of his closest friends couldn't identify him? Had seven years taken such a toll on him?

Ash was holding his head as thoughts struck him like a hammer. Each one a jab in his heart.

At that moment all hell broke loose.

* * *

Lucas was an innocent sweet little child. But that didn't mean that he wasn't disturbed by the yells coming from the ground floor. Meowth told him to ignore them when he heard it the first time.

"You're lying!"

He definitely couldn't ignore that. There was some shouting going on. His mom could be in danger. The talking Pokémon would definitely not allow him. He looked around, hoping that something would help him in the situation.

His eyes fell on the plastic bat in the corner.

The child wasn't graceful at sneaking on people, nor was he strong enough to hit a Pokémon, even if it were just a Meowth, and hurt it. But Meowth was too engrossed in what transpired below him. He was standing on the railings, hoping to jump down any time, lest the boss needed his help.

The boy swept the bat clumsily. He obviously wasn't tall enough to hit the Pokémon on the head while it was standing at a height. He instead crashed against the steel railing with a thud.

Startled by the sudden vibration, Meowth jumped forward onto the ground floor.

A fatal mistake on his part and a good opportunity for Lucas's Mom.

* * *

The man was still trembling like he was drenched in ice water when the next scene happened. He obviously didn't anticipate it.

The sound when Lucas crashed onto the steel railing caught Dawn's attention. Meowth, in an impulse jumped onto the ground floor. She immediately kicked the man in the area between his legs.

The sudden kick in the wrong place got him into a world of pain. Before he could have a chance to react, she kicked him once more in the same place and then pushed him back. He stumbled against the table and crashed back.

"Lucas!" She yelled hysterically. "Get into your room!"

Lucas was still rubbing his head in pain, thanks to the crash earlier. She was worried, but there was no time to do so. The boy luckily, acted to the situation and rushed back into his room.

Noticing the kid scampering away, Meowth immediately got into action.

She immediately enlarged the Pokéball she pulled from the bag and tossed it. "Buneary!"

Her icon-star, Buneary, appeared with a meek battle cry. Meowth had to jump twice to get to the top again but—

"Buneary," she yelled. "Jump Kick!"

In just one jump, Buneary traversed the distance the feline Pokémon did. The feline Pokémon, who was still in the midst of the jump didn't have the time to react to the attack. The powerful fighting move hit Meowth straight on the face, throwing the Pokémon onto the expensive portrait that hung to the wall.

"You damned bitch!" The man hissed as he attempted to stand back.

She took another Pokéball from her bag. "Empoleon!"

The Emperor Pokémon materialized with a loud battle cry. It bared its claws in a battle stance.

"Don't move," she warned as the man attempted to stand back up. The tables were turned, and she was now in the command of the situation. But still, she wouldn't take her chances.

As the man stared at her apprehensively in anger, she took the phone on the desk dialed. "Buneary, close Lucas's room with Ice Beam," she ordered as the phone rang.

"If you think," he grumbled as he attempted to stand again.

"I told you not to stand," she said, the receiver still in hand.

He didn't paid heed to her threats. He glared at her, with blue eyes that shone with ghostly light. They weren't just blue; they were lit like a car's headlight.

"What in the world?" She stepped back, sensing danger.

Her Pokémon stood before her protectively, assuring her safety.

"You'll regret for being so goddamn smart," he stumbled twice as he said that.

"It won't happen," she said, "Don't move. Or else—" She wasn't just warning him, she was prepared to go to lengths in that moment.

* * *

The electric rodent was peacefully enjoying the Oran berries outside the house. He remembered hanging out here with Piplup back when they stayed in Twinleaf for few days. Sadly, those days were over. That didn't mean he couldn't enjoy as he put an eye outside.

He was put outside for two reasons. One, Pikapi didn't want her to see him. Because his presence would give away Pikapi's identity. Two, to keep watch. Sometimes curious neighbors could be trouble.

As he peacefully ate the berries he plucked earlier, he heard a couple of noises form inside. Normally, one wouldn't hear anything from inside. But Pikachu's sensitive ears gave him an advantage on that matter.

He heard Pikapi yell something. Then he heard some strange noise. And then a grunt from Pikapi, as if he was kicked in his you-know-what.

"Pika," he was slightly worried. But Dawn wasn't something Pikapi couldn't handle. Maybe she was giving a hard time. He chuckled at that.

No sooner did that happen, a familiar, distant siren struck his ears.

'_The police!'_ Pikachu was startled. Could Dawn have—?

The rodent realized it was trouble.

* * *

The Twinleaf police were just as inefficient as the rest of the worlds. Luckily, Twinleaf wasn't much of a place. And it didn't take more than two minutes for them to reach any place in the town.

The police car stopped before the Berlitz residence. There was something fishy going inside. Inspector Lestrade knew. Why, because his intuition told him so.

Well, actually it was the call from Berlitz's residence that told him of the situation. While Ms. Berlitz hadn't spoken anything for some time, they heard a couple of muffled voices and a Pokémon cry. That was all they needed to get alert.

The Inspector got down along with three other officers. "How exactly do we do it?" Lestrade asked the senior most of the three officers.

"Not sure," the officer admitted.

"Let's use the megaphone," a second suggested. Inspector Lestrade liked the idea as they never had to use the megaphone.

"Bring it," he ordered.

* * *

Dawn couldn't believe it.

The man—no, he was a monster. She looked at what her house turned into. Her Empoleon was against the wall, a noticeable crack behind the Pokémon. Everything that stood in the way as Empoleon was tossed away got crushed.

There was a broken flower vase, a table that now had only two legs, a sofa that was toppled onto its back, and a carpet that was torn as Empoleon screeched itself to a stop with its legs before crashing into the wall.

The man stood there, one hand around the wrist of the other to hold it in support. His palm, that was open, now fumed with steam. He was heaving for breath as the attack must have taken considerable amount of energy out of him.

How did he do it?

It was an attack. A Pokémon attack, not a human one.

What the heck was he?

She looked around for assistance. Her Buneary was unconscious too, thanks to the same man. He defeated two of her Pokémon with bare hands, a monstrous feat.

She might not be a Pokémon Battler, but being a top coordinator means that your Pokémon would be above average in battling too. The fact that he managed to defeat them terrified her.

She lost hope. She cursed at her own luck. She lamented that it was her punishment for breaking a man's heart.

From the beginning, she was a sinful existence. She didn't deserve to be a top coordinator either, if it weren't for Ash's encouragement.

She buckled down to her knees, admitting defeat.

If only she could somehow save Lucas, she wouldn't mind dying right now. She wished for a miracle.

The miracle happened through Inspector Lestrade's megaphone.

"Whoever the heck is inside," a voice rang through the megaphone. "Let Ms. Berlitz alone or prepared to be run down by my Growlithe."

"Dumbass idiots," the man before her muttered. He glared at her, "So you did manage to call them, huh." He lowered his hand. "Fine," he mumbled. "You win." He smiled for some reason.

The smile sent a shiver down her spine. Not because it was eerie or wicked, but because it was a bright smile. A genuine ring of happiness was carried through it.

The smile completely transformed the cold man into something else. Her heart raced, as it calculated something as a possibility. She wasn't sure what it was, but it made her heart flutter.

He didn't maintain the gaze for long. He walked to the feline Pokémon that was knocked out by Buneary earlier. "Your Pokémon are your strength," he said as he picked the Pokémon up. "I'm glad I saw that confident side of you again."

Before Dawn could even utter something, the man broke open a window and jumped out through it.

"A-A…" she was hyperventilating. She wanted to chase him. Stop the man and apologize for what she had done. But she couldn't.

She simply sat there, crying for reasons she didn't know.

* * *

The Twinleaf Town was brought to Dawn's house by the screams of the four policemen. By the time, the general crowd surrounded the house. They spotted the four men in blue trembling, thanks to the residual static electricity circulating through their bodies.

"That's nasty," said a man who watched them, half in pity, and half with curiosity as for what actually happened to them.

"Chu," a rodent cooed cutely before it disappeared into the bushes around.

"W-We should've simply broken in," the third officer said, coughing a good amount of smoke as he did so. Announcing their arrival was certainly a bad idea.

* * *

"The next ship to Kanto departs in half-an-hour," the captain of the S.S Kanto replied. He was a friendly person. Stout, with a beard that reminded you of an Emboar. If he had two tusks, he'd indeed be one.

The boy nodded. "Thank you~" he greeted. The boy then turned back and walked into the crowd he came from. If the captain had been observant, he'd have noticed that the boy had whiskers, and had only three fingers. Luckily, he wasn't.

The boy turned into a dark corner, where a man was found sitting on a crate, leaned down in a thinking posture. He concealed himself in the dark, saving himself the pain of facing the light. A short creature sat by his legs, watching him curiously.

"How long will you be like that?" The boy asked.

"Shut up Meowth," he said. He obviously disliked getting disturbed.

"The next ship to Kanto…" Meowth paused, expecting some kind of scathing remark from his boss. But it never came. "Half-an-hour."

"I see," he muttered. "So you've started making decisions for your trainer, huh? What next? Catch me with a Pokéball."

"Stop being so pathetic," Meowth said, sitting on a smaller stack of crate beside him. "You know you didn't screw the girl."

"And yet she says…" he paused. He couldn't say it. "Maybe I did. Maybe I was too drunk one fine day."

"I don't know," Meowth muttered. "You were away for one month back then. Both me and Pikachu didn't know what you did back then."

"I was in Orre," he said, giving a small glare. He did say that twice already. But the feline liked making fun out of that.

"So, you've seen her situation didn't you?" Meowth said. "What about the other Twerpettes?" Brock's letter did mention the other Twerpette being in similar situations. Ash himself was in a hopeless state for the past seven years. Could life get any worse? Well it did benefit Meowth though. He drank Moo-Moo milk on a regular basis and could play with fur balls and he was now strong enough to go on a date with a Delcatty let alone a Skitty.

"Am I being selfish, Meowth?" Ash asked. "Justifying Mom's death with my hatred on them."

Meowth didn't answer. Ash knows the answer, which was a 'yes'.

He doesn't even hate them. He simply ran away from them. He just doesn't want to admit that. Meowth felt pity on his trainer. He was his own enemy. If he could be a little less stubborn he could still reunite with his friends. He wasn't destined to end like this. He had a title, the Pokémon Master. He could lead a grand life, find a good girl, marry her, have children, make a family and live forever happily with his friends and Pokémon.

"I'm despicable Meowth," he muttered. "You've seen how Dawn looked at me in fear."

"That's because you threatened her kid," Meowth wanted to facepalm. He was being worse than a four-year old. "If you had been kind—"

"I can't be…" he trailed off.

The feline Pokémon wondered if his boss would survive a full crate on his face. Yes, he would. Unfortunately Meowth wasn't strong enough to lift one.

"Pikapi," Pikachu jumped onto his lap and looked at him worriedly. Anyone would be worried by the way Ash was speaking.

Then suddenly a chill went down Meowth's spine. What if their contractor would call them now? She did say something about calling today. If Ash were to speak to her in a foul mood—

No sooner did he think so, a persistent vibration broke the somber silence in the dark alley.

The feline Pokémon took a gulp and stared at Ash. The raven-haired man stared at the phone like an alien object. As Meowth prayed to Arceus, he clicked the button after much deliberation.

"So," a mysterious voice was speaking to him on the videophone. "Does it require you to smoke an entire mall to steal a Buizel?"

'_Damn that bitch.' _That was worse than Meowth expected. Why not exchange few pleasantries first? At least a small hello would suffice?

"No," Ash replied, irritated. He was in no mood to listen to _her_ preaching now. "I simply wanted to put up a show." He didn't want to give her a straight answer.

The voice was equally irritated by the smug reply. "It's this arrogance that made the Interpol fall on you."

Ash clenched his fists. "I don't give a damn about them. I've done enough of this stupidity for seven years."

"Boss," Meowth interrupted, trying to steal the phone from him. It was a futile effort. "We can take it a bit smoothly."

"You call our noble mission silly?" The voice hissed back, obviously offended. "You might be a Pokémon master but that doesn't make you a god."

"Enough," he snarled. He pulled the phone out of Meowth's reach. "I've had enough of this stupid life. I'm not going to do anymore missions for the G-Men. Here's my resignation," he threw the phone against the wall with as much force as he could before the feline had a chance to react. The phone broke into a million pieces and no longer resembled one.

Either Pokémon watched the trainer in dismay. "Save the fucking world?" He yelled. "I can't even save my own ass!" He banged his fist against the wall behind. "Damn it… all this."

At this, a small crowd formed near the alley entrance. A couple of people looked at them strangely. But as Ash threw a strong glare, they scurried back to their respective businesses.

* * *

**Pewter City, Kanto Region**

The Harrison family was excited. The wedding of a certain Brock Harrison was only two months away.

Lola Harrison was the woman in charge. She put all the four pairs of Brock's siblings and Forrest, Flint into work. Apart from them, there were plenty of other guests who joined them just to help the Harrisons.

Three days ago was decided as the mark for the beginning of the wedding ceremony. The first week was decided to be spent on planning the ceremony.

It was a wonderful ceremony, but the bridegroom himself looked unhappy. Not because of the overused joke that his life's going to end with marriage. But because the man he announced to be his best man was nowhere to be found. It was something he lamented for the past seven years, but now he worried more because his marriage was one wonderful occasion in which Brock wanted Ash to be with him.

He watched as the youngest, Billy and Tilly chased each other. They were both ten year old each. As Billy attempted to catch Tilly she ducked a couple of people and ran towards the main gate. She perhaps planned to escape into the gym, Brock thought. As she ran outside, something abruptly halted her progress.

Tilly bumped into a strange man and fell back in the process. "Ow," she rubbed her head. It was as if she struck an Iron pillar. She looked up in an attempt to apologize. "I'm so—"

Her words were lost in her lips when she saw the man looking down on her. With uncomfortable brown eyes, he scanned her and turned to her brother who approached them.

An eerie silence stood as even Billy looked speechless at the man who looked dangerously calm. He looked at them, one sibling to the other strangely while the two reciprocated with their own stares.

Tilly stood up, "I-I'm sorry…," she apologized hurriedly. "Have you come for Brock?"

She wanted to slap herself for that. But she was a bit freaked out to be normal. She looked down and spotted a Pikachu standing by his side.

A bell rang in her mind, not just once but twice. The second was her twin brother Billy's.

"Ash?" Brock asked as he pushed either sibling and walked towards the raven-haired trainer.

"Brock," Ash said with an exciting smile on his face. "Long time no see, buddy. I'm really glad you're getting married man."

Brock snapped out of his dream when he heard something crash beside him.

'_That was all a freaking dream?'_ He rubbed his head.

It was five in the morning, the clock to his left said. He looked to his right. It became a casual habit of his since the past few days. Every day he'd remind himself that the space beside him would soon be filled by the wonderful woman who was going to enter his life. Although, when he looked to his right, he spotted two deadly red eyes staring at him.

"Whoa!" Brock exclaimed as he jumped out of his bed.

"Way to go Pikachu," a Meowth _spoke_.He spotted a rodent, rubbing its head in apology, and found his bed-lamp down on the floor. The two deadly eyes staring at him belonged to a Noctowl. It wasn't just any Noctowl. It had a golden plumage with beautiful red wings matching them.

But behind them was something spookier. They were a pair of blue eyes, shining in the dark.

'_What the hell's going on?'_

"I hope we didn't disturb your sleep ol' Twerp," the Meowth greeted with a beaming smile. "Not that we care. It's just a conversation starter."

Brock realized this was going to be a nightmare.

**I am working on my DBZ project, The Hunt for Gold and will probably stay on it for a while. Do give it a read :p**


	4. A Ghostly Vision

**4. A Ghostly Vision**

That day seven years ago was perhaps the worst to him in any way possible. He was simply unaware of his misfortune until the moment his eyes set on the scene that killed him forever.

The day was gloomy back then, thanks to the clouds that occupied the sky. As he remembered the rain, visions of the day returned. Visions of a nightmare…

Footsteps. Hurried ones, damp ones. He was running like a madman.

'_No, it shouldn't be true.' _He thought. Maybe there was a mistake. Maybe they mistook her for someone else. Maybe…

The country road that connected Pallet Town to Route One was damped by the rain. If one weren't careful, they'd slip down the steep path and end up in dirt.

But he didn't care. His hands and legs were soiled with mud and slime. But he didn't stop until he reached that place.

The running footsteps slowed on their accord as he neared his home. There was a huge crowd outside, and a mournful silence.

The splashing of the water caught the attention of the bystanders. There was an expression of sympathy and sorrow when their eyes fell on him.

No.

He ignored their looks. They were all crazy, he explained to himself as he pushed them and entered the little yard, into the house.

More than a dozen familiar faces were standing by the door. He spotted the squint-eyed Brock, the redhead Misty, the blunette Dawn, the brunette May, the connoisseur Cilan and the bushy-haired Iris.

"Ash…" Dawn was in tears. But he could see the rest of them were holding them back too, the blunette was the only one to show it.

"Why the hell are you crying?" He was angry at her. He glared at Brock, expecting some answer.

But he knew it.

Defiant to the truth, he pushed his friends away and spotted an unexpected scene. His mother was lying on her bed, peacefully in deep sleep. Professor Oak sat beside her, crying as held her arm.

Until then, it didn't dawn upon him that she died.

"I-I...I'm sorry," he spotted a brown-haired Gary crying. "I-It was all my fault."

* * *

A gentle nudge opened his eyes. His eyes met with the dark oval of his best friend's. The rodent was standing on his chest, while gently rubbing his cheeks.

Tears, he realized when the Pokémon's hands were moist.

"Pikapi," his Pokémon muttered softly.

It was strange. The only time he cried was when he left Pallet Town, and now he was crying once more on his way back to Kanto. Does it have something to do with the weather? He chuckled at his own reasoning.

Much as he cried, he grew angry. He wasn't sure at whom. His mother had the most painful moments before death, but she at least had a good sleep before she did.

"Pikachu," he said to his partner. "I've decided. I'll meet Brock first."

The rodent looked surprised. It wondered what was going through the trainer's mind. Noticing the Pokémon's troubled expression, he brushed the Pokémon's cheeks. "It's not like I'm going to help him or anything. I just want to make sure he doesn't write any more of those stupid letters."

Sending a letter to every known Pokémon Center in the five regions. Seriously, how foolish was he?

He wasn't that stupid back then was he?

* * *

**Seven years ago…**

"Three days," Brock said holding a glass of champagne. "It took three days for the world's greatest Pokémon trainer to spend his time with his friends."

"Come on Brock," Ash sighed in defeat. "I get it. But there were a lot of formalities. Getting recorded in the hall of fame was just the tip of the iceberg."

Much as the title ceremony of Pokémon Master was exciting, it was also boring till the last moment. He had to give too many speeches, words of encouragement to new generation trainers and all. In the midst of all the flash, he couldn't meet his friends at all.

"Well," Misty smiled, "At least you're here now. Let's enjoy to the fullest before the media takes him away."

"Exactly," Cilan said excitedly. "Spending time with the greatest Pokémon Master certainly has an exciting taste."

"Much as annoying he is," Iris said, ignoring the cold glare from Cilan. "Cilan's saying the truth. I'm glad we're having this night together."

"After seeing you Ash," May said putting a determined expression. "I'm more than fired up to be the best contest trainer in the world."

He expected Dawn to say something too, but the blunette didn't. She was simply staring at him, lost in deep thought.

"What's wrong Dawn?" He asked, wondering what's going through the blunette's mind.

She seemed to have been broken out of a trance. "Ah, nothing," she said looking away from him uneasily.

"Oh let me guess," Iris said, with a crooked smile as Dawn fumed with a red color.

Does she have a crush on him? Ash was honestly surprised. How couldn't he _not_ notice it till today?

"I-It's nothing," Dawn said, getting more on the defensive. Her actions were obvious even to the oblivious Ash.

He checked his friends, wondering if his assumption was correct. While Brock and Cilan exchanged a smile and May chuckled at Dawn, he noticed Misty eating her food silently, her face expressionless.

Although he chose to ignore it, Iris didn't. "Well Misty doesn't look happy," she teased, catching the redhead completely off guard.

She looked terrified for a second and threw him a sharp glance. "Watch what you speak!" She exclaimed at Iris, her face red with embarrassment.

"Now," May teased her. "Aren't _you_ a bit defensive?"

"Girls," Dawn said before anyone else talked. "Let's put all that for later." She said raising an eyebrow at Ash.

The raven-haired trainer was obviously troubled by this. Just what the hell would they discuss later? Speaking of which—

"May," he addressed the brunette. "I've heard you and Drew are dating."

"What?" Even Brock was surprised. Well it was surprising because Ash heard it from a few news reporters and the couple itself hadn't spoken anything about it.

"Looks like the cat is out of the bag," Dawn said winking at May, who blushed at this.

"He asked me out," she said half-smiling half-blushing. "It was just yesterday. How did _you_ know?"

"I have my sources," Ash chuckled. "But I think you might want to check tomorrow's news."

That night was perhaps the most wonderful he ever had. It was a special day he dedicated to his friends and his friends alone. He laughed as Iris commented on Cilan's speech on love-life causing the connoisseur to go on a rant. Dawn tried to soothe him, while Misty chided Iris. May spoke out a couple of things about her date on Brock's request. In the end, they enjoyed the night.

Later that night as they departed. "Let's all take an oath," Brock announced, surprising everyone else. "From now on we'll dedicate this date for meeting like this every year."

"That's right," Cilan said, "We all will be busy with something or the other. Let's put this one day for our reunion. None of us shall make any reasons to not attend this."

"It's a deal," Ash said, putting a hand forward. The rest of the group placed their hands over his. "No matter what comes, we'll meet on 19th March every year until the world ends."

"We missed that window last December 21st," Misty quipped as everyone else laughed.

Needless to say, they never had a reunion on March 19th after that. Or maybe they did, Ash didn't know. His mother died three months later. His world ended that day.

* * *

**Now…**

Brock stood terrified, as he was the ghostly blue eyes. The source moved closer, coming into the light as he did so.

At first, Brock was terrified by the prospect of a ghost. But then he slowly made the outlines of a raven-haired man throwing the soon-to-be married doctor a cold glare.

"Ash?" He asked, half-doubtful. It was a logical assumption. No one else he knew had a shiny Noctowl, a Pikachu. But the Meowth…

"I'm glad _someone_ identified me," Ash said, although his expression didn't look anywhere close to happy.

So it was Ash, Brock's doubts were confirmed. Suddenly, a swivel of emotions took over him. "Oh Ash," his voice grew heavy, "Where the hell have you been buddy?" He said trying to close him into a hug. But something in those blue eyes told him to stop. "What's wrong with your eyes?" He asked, but he didn't have to wait for the answer. "Lemme guess, Aura?" He asked to which Ash's silence was a confirmation. "Wow, you certainly learned a few stuff since then I guess."

There was more silence. Brock realized the conversation was going one sided. "What's wrong, man?" He wondered. He knew it had been seven years since he met his friend. But knowing Ash, he expected the same goofy-yet-smart kid from seven years ago. So, then why wasn't he talking anything.

"I was hoping that you'd finish your monologue," he said with a mocking smile, stinging the Pokémon doctor a bit. "I just came here to tell you that I'm alive, and I hope you don't write those stupid letters anymore if you want to have a 'happy married life'."

Was that a threat? Or was he wishing him a happy married life? Brock wondered. Something's more important than that. He frowned, "What do you mean by stupid letters?"

"What do you think he means?" Meowth said, mockingly. "You are about to get married and you already seem to have your brain chewed out."

"What is that Meowth doing with you?" Brock asked, ignoring the insult.

"Worry about yourself," Ash said giving Brock a pat on his shoulders. "Here's a gift for your marriage." The raven-haired handled Brock a crumbled piece of paper. It was the letter he faxed throughout the Pokémon Centers in the world. "Keep it for yourselves," Ash muttered, turning around.

The window behind him was open, and the grills seem to have been broken by something sharp. '_So that's how he came in.'_ He thought.

Brock clenched his fist as he crumbled the paper further. "You haven't forgiven us, did you?" He asked, lowering his voice.

He felt the blue eyes on him, once more. "At this point," Ash muttered. "I simply don't care."

"Why?" Brock's voice was more of a pleading one than a questioning one. "I'm not asking you much, am I? Ever since you disappeared, people lost their smiles. Everybody was sorry about what happened to you. We all felt guilty. The least we could do was comfort you in such a situation. But you just disappeared. As if none of us mattered to you."

"It's funny, isn't it," Ash replied, his voice more like a cold whisper. "You're blaming _me_ for all _I_ suffered. Just how self-centered can you be, Brock? It sickens me."

"Self-centered?" Brock's voice shook at the weight of Ash's words. "Do you even know how much people suffered in these seven years? Who do you think is the one being self-centered?!"

* * *

Meowth couldn't help but smile at that. Even Ash should've known he was being ridiculous. He didn't come back to Kanto just to warn his friend about the letter. Seriously, how childish could he get? How longer would he put this stubborn charade and not accept the truth?

The boss looked defeated. He knew he was being selfish, constantly bringing up an incident from seven years ago to hide his own fears. He's scared if he could return back to his old-self. It was a truth that he could never accept in his life and so he became blind to it.

"Okay," Brock said after a silent moment. "You've come this far to see me, didn't you?" He said softly. "You are my guest on that accord. Have some breakfast with us before you leave. I can treat your Pokémon too." He said, looking at Meowth for some reason.

Ash looked at Brock, wondering if he had any ulterior motives. It was expected, because Brock's proposal was unusual. Proves how good of a man he was. "Why refuse free food?" Meowth suggested Ash.

The raven-haired glared at the feline for a second, not that he was intimidated. "Fine, I'll be waiting outside." Ash said finally admitting defeat.

Brock began to say something, "I insist—"

Ash cut him immediately, "Outside." Without waiting for any other reaction from Brock, he jumped out through the window.

Meowth glanced at the older human for a second. Brock sighed in defeat. "You know, I have a ton of questions," he said.

"Dump them somewhere," Meowth quipped before following suit. "And," he said before he left. "There'll be around 50 Pokémon to feed."

Meowth loved Brock's dumbstruck expression after that.

* * *

Brock certainly didn't expect Ash to bring out _each_ and every of his Pokémon all at once. He did bring enough food for all of them, by sweeping out many supplies from his brother's gym.

He watched as the monsters swooped at their respective bowls and gobble the food. It was a familiar scene from Brock. He remembered the days he travelled with Ash when he was in charge of the cooking department.

Brock opened his lips to say something. "Don't say nostalgia," Ash said before he could even do so.

He frowned at the raven-haired trainer. '_Jeez, what's wrong with him?'_

Meowth who was having a glass of Moo-moo milk shrugged at Brock when they exchanged glances. For some reason he found Meowth more sociable than Ash himself. Now that's when you realize something's wrong with the world.

"What about you?" Brock said pointing to the food on their table.

Ash looked at Brock's familiar cooking strangely. He took his plate of food and walked away from the table and settled on one of Pewter's famous rocks. Brock found himself sitting by the table he brought, alone. "Wow," he muttered silently.

* * *

Ash hated to say it, but he missed some good cooking. Brock's skills have vastly improved since then. Whoever his fiancé was, she's pretty lucky.

The food reminded him of the days when they travelled. His stomach used to churn at the most uncomfortable moments, and they'd all set a table somewhere in the middle of some random forest and have a wonderful dinner. Then he'd look at the stars that reminisce him of his gym badges. I need to get the next one, the stars used to encourage him.

He placed his empty plate back on the table. Brock threw him an inquisitive glance but he ignored him. "Want any seconds?" He asked.

"No," Ash said. But at the same moment his stomach made the noise he was so familiar with.

"Your stomach says yes," Brock smiled, taking Ash's plate. Ash felt his cheeks turn red in embarrassment. '_Damn that stomach of mine.'_

He watched wordlessly as Brock handed him the plate filled with food again. Ash took it and proceeded to walk back to the rock he sat on. "You can sit here if you want," Brock pointed to the empty chair. Ash looked at the chair hesitantly.

The interaction somehow brought a laugh that Meowth half-tried to stop. "Sorry," Meowth said when Ash glared at him, "The milk tastes you know," he sputtered for a second, "Well, funny."

"Good for you," Ash mumbled before sitting down.

As Ash silently mouthed the delicious cooking Brock asked, "Wanna know who the bride is?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ash looked at Meowth. It was obvious that the feline was controlling his laughter. He sighed, "Okay."

"Or do you want to guess?" Brock said, smiling excitedly. Unfortunately Ash didn't share the same excitement. Although he was a bit curious as for whom this girl was. More than that, he wondered how Brock ended his unfortunate streak with the ladies.

"Sabrina," Ash guessed, half-trying.

Brock choked at this. "I don't want to be a doll. Why the hell did you bring her name again?"

Ash shrugged, "Just a guess."

"I guess you don't like guessing," Brock said.

'_Good job figuring that out,'_ he smiled wryly.

"It's Suzie," Brock said, blushing when he said her name. "You know the nice lady I shared a Vulpix with?"

He did hit off with a good one, Ash mused. "How did you manage?" He asked, perhaps the first question on his part. Suzie did set a salon with someone else. Honestly he didn't see any hope for Brock back then.

Brock moved closer to Ash, his voice excited. "I just got my feelings through, like a man should."

Wasn't that what he tried every time? Patience works, perhaps. How the hell would those two look together anyway? He tried imagining the picture.

* * *

What started as a simple question soon turned out into a flood of conversation, although Brock spoke the most part.

Meowth saw Ash 'accidentally' smile a bit or two.

"You're the first person I've said all those lame attempts I made," Brock said. "That's because you already know how lame my usual ones are."

Ash still remained with a plain face, although he seemed to be a lot free than few seconds ago. '_Oh, you poor guy. You do love to laugh with your friend, don't you?'_

"I mean," Brock said, still continuing his flood of words. "I didn't even talk to any of the girls or Max or Cilan since four years."

Ash remained silent. It's your fault boss, Meowth wanted to point out but Ash might know it already. "We met on March 19th for three years, hoping you'd…" Brock trailed off. "I don't have friends to talk with anymore. You were the one who held us all together."

There was a pregnant pause after that. "You're right," Ash admitted.

Even Brock was surprised by that. Could it be that—? Meowth found the eyes of many Pokémon on the two humans. They were all interested in their trainer's behavior too.

* * *

"What?" Brock asked, confused as to what that meant. Or how much did that mean?

"I met Dawn yesterday," he muttered.

Brock remembered watching yesterday's news report about a famous designer being attacked by some stranger twice the same day. Although her managing partner insisted on it, she refused to file a…

The news landed as a strange shock to Brock. "Then the news on the television was—" He stopped when Ash nodded.

"I see," Brock muttered, wondering what transpired between the two.

"She's being harassed by that managing partner of hers," he said gritting his teeth. "And who the hell is that kid's father anyway?"

"No clue," Brock said. "She was pregnant a few months after our last reunion. That's when May disappeared too."

"May," Ash repeated the name. "Wasn't she dating Drew?"

"She was," Brock said. "They looked a bit happy when we met on that last reunion. They broke up the next moment they landed on Hoenn. After that she lost her track and got into bad stuff."

"Bad stuff?" Ash asked. He frowned, "Like?"

"Drugs."

Brock wanted to add how worse the situation was. Getting high a bit and occasional consumption wasn't much of a threat to her career. But the woman had completely changed her lifestyle. She spends most of her time, alone. But he wanted Ash to face the scene himself, if he was interested that is.

He looked at the raven-haired man, who was deep in thoughtful silence. Brock wondered what went through his mind.

* * *

Ash remained silent. Had he been with his friends, would their lives have been better? He wasn't sure how his presence would affect the relationship between Drew and May. Well, he could have at least cheered her when she was down. His old self wouldn't let his friends go down that road.

"I'll do you one favor Brock," he finally spoke. The former gym leader was surprised and skeptical at the same time.

"I'll help those people you mentioned in the letter," Ash didn't know if he knew what he spoke. "But that's it. I'm doing this because I have an obligation to help you." Brock had been the guide of his life. If it hadn't been for Brock, he wasn't sure if he would have achieved his lifelong goal. Besides he was kind enough to treat him with food despite Ash's hostile behavior.

* * *

The S.S Hoennian touched the coasts of Littleroot. The sky was filled with the white feathered Pokémon Wingull, an indication that they touched Hoenn.

"I honestly didn't expect this," Meowth said as they walked into the town. "The old twerp conned you with food, and you fell for it."

Ash looked at Meowth with visible disgust. Lesser he wanted to admit it; the more he thought it could be true. Perhaps Brock did trick him into this. But it didn't matter. He gave his word and that's that. For all the good things he had done, letting Brock win wasn't a big deal.

* * *

**A few hours ago…**

"Since you suggested it, we'll begin with Operation: May," Brock started planning when Ash finally decided to help him out. Something Ash wasn't particularly fond of.

"Look," he said. "I do things my way. I know a lot more than you do. So it's better if you don't butt into the planning division. You have a marriage to worry about."

That did well to shut up Brock, for a while at least. Fifteen minutes later, as Ash packed his bag, Brock asked him, "So what's the plan?"

Ash looked at him as if he was a thorn in his shoe. "There isn't much of a plan," Ash said. "I go to Petalburg, find her house, swoop the woman and then we'll see what happens. Rehab or whatever, I don't care."

"Just as I thought," Brock shook his head. "You still don't plan things out do you?"

"Why do you even ask?" Ash shrugged as he strapped the bag to his shoulders.

"Look," Brock pulled Ash back to his attention, "You don't understand the severity of the problem."

"What's so severe about it?" Ash frowned in annoyance. "She's just a woman who likes to get high a lot often."

"That's the problem," Brock said. "Trust me on this Ash. The police have been searching her for three years; they don't even find a trace. And she hasn't moved a single inch away from Petalburg Metro."

"That shows incompetent they are," Ash said.

"That shows how smart she is," Brock retorted. "Look Ash. May isn't your average woman. She's too smart. I worked with the Petalburg P.D to catch her, I saw the plans she makes on spot. You think you catch a sniff of her, and she'll lead you straight into a dead end."

"You're exaggerating it," Ash said.

"I'm not," Brock said firmly.

Ash took a heavy breath. It seemed like Brock wasn't letting him go without putting some stupid plan into his head. "Fine, tell your plan."

"Now we're talking," Brock smiled.

Of course at that moment Ash didn't know how valuable Brock's idea would be, nor did he realize how smart a foxy woman can be.

**A transition from Pearlshipping. The next chapter, let's begin the Advanceshipping.**


	5. Sweet May

**In my story, Road to be a Pokémon Master, I mentioned I am taking a one month break for my exams. Well, I managed to sneak out some time for this one. Like I said in my other story, this is my only update in the coming next month. I hope you enjoy this chapter, because I liked writing it.**

**5. 'Sweet' May**

It was another pleasant day in the Old Petalburg City. In contrast to the Petalburg Metro that was always filled with the honks and sirens of the rampant traffic and thick polluted air that could turn your lungs into black bags of soot, the Old Petalburg was mostly calm, with the occasional melodious tweets from the Swablu or the hungry caws from the Taillow.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The firm knock on the door brought the young man who was sleeping on the couch awake. The living room was dim in comparison to the kitchen as the sunlight seeped in through the backdoor. The hissing from the kitchen, the gentle aroma wafting through the house and the repeated sound of the knife hitting the wooden board told him his mother had her hands full with cooking.

Seeing no other option left he rose to his feet and wobbled lazily towards the wooden door. He adjusted his glasses that were slipping down his nose as he twisted the door's handle. With a gentle click the door opened. The bright sun brandished the light on his face as if he deserved the punishment for staying so long in the dark. He blinked his eyes as his vision cleared, and found a beaming smile right in front of him.

"Good morning," the man who stood before him greeted. "My name is Agent Washer from the Hoenn Bureau of Investigations." He said sticking out an ID before the young man's face. Before Max could even have a proper look at the card, the agent tucked it back into his suit.

The man before him had the confident bossy look the agents of the investigation agencies always carried. He wore a neatly ironed black suit, as if to signify his position. He had a brown hair that was neatly combed and glistened with the sun. His eyes were an eerie blue that felt more like neon bulbs rather than human eyes.

"W-What do you want?" Max asked, a tinge of uneasiness in his voice.

"You must be Max," the man smiled. "I have received information that your sister might have contacted your family in the past few days."

"N-No," Max stuttered, raising the agent's suspicion. "I-I mean my sister hasn't contacted us since four years. So the case has been shifted to the federal department now?"

"Not quite," he replied. "We have received information that the Petalburg Metro was having a hard time finding her, a friend of your sister's contacted my boss and asked if we could be of any assistance."

"I see," Max said thoughtfully, wondering who would actually do such a thing. Something hit him in realization then. "Why don't you come inside, there are a few things I would like to share." He requested the man whom he had detained at the door throughout the conversation.

A few minutes later, with a satisfied look on his face, a stomach that was more than filled, Agent Washer walked out of the Maple family's household. As he took the short walk to the main road, he extracted a cellphone from his pocket, jabbed a few numbers and put the piece to his ear. He paused his walk when he confirmed that he was a good distance away from the Maple residence to avoid suspicion. The line connected to the other side and a nasal voice that was more than annoying answered it. "That's the worst way to get a free breakfast," the annoying voice that couldn't be human spoke. It in fact belonged to a certain feline Pokémon that miraculously knew how to speak.

The brown haired main spread his lips at this. "Well, we're visiting May. Thought I could as well try her mom's cooking."

"Did Brock's cooking awaken the glutton inside you?" The Pokémon asked mockingly, earning a small smile on his face. It didn't wait for a reply as it asked again, "So any new information?"

"Nothing Brock missed. Apparently Max's less informed of his sister's plight," he said as he turned back to check once again. "By the way, the disguise's cool. Brock's plan doesn't suck."

If any of you haven't guessed by now, the brown-haired man was in fact one mysterious Ash Ketchum, now clad in an expensive suit made of a smooth nylon cloth that would make you clasp it forever once you touch it to feel the smooth fibers. He ripped the suit from the wardrobe of a locked house he found in the neighborhood of the Maple's.

"Yeah it doesn't," the feline replied. "I actually found his plan workable. He did his homework, boss."

"For his sake," he smiled. "Let's hope so. I'll meet you in ten minutes." He turned the phone off, and slid it back into his pocket. He then proceeded to move onto his next destination, Petalburg Metro.

* * *

**Moving a day back….**

After much persuasion on Brock's part, and some deliberation on Ash's part, and a few random tasteless jokes on Meowth's part, Brock finally managed to convince the Pokémon master into listening to the research he had done in his attempts to find May and the plan that resulted out of his findings.

"Four years ago, May disappeared right after the reunion we had." Brock opened a stack containing a couple of seemingly random papers bundled together. As Brock opened the stack, crumbles of papers separated themselves from the documents that seemed to have been worked upon by a Rattata.

He continued, "She broke up with Drew or so we assume. Nobody actually knew what happened with her, even Drew. The police searched her throughout Petalburg Metro and caught her when she was in the black market to buy some _Odd*_. She promised her Dad she wouldn't involve herself in such things anymore and agreed to go to a rehab center. The police got her off the hook. She returned home and disappeared two days later."

Ash raised an eyebrow at this. So she acted nice girl just to get herself away from the police. That means she was perfectly under control of whatever addiction she had.

He showed Ash a paper he extracted from the bundle. "The police said it'd be better if they froze her accounts. She had a lot of prize money collected from winning many contests. But by the time the police acted, she made the account empty."

Impressive, the Pokémon Master thought. Had he done that, he wouldn't have been broke right now. He expected some kind of snicker from Meowth's side, but the feline decided to remain silent.

"So," Ash sighed, taking a look at the bank statement in his hands. "What am I supposed to do?"

"The police have long since considered her case a lost cause," Brock said, disappointment in his voice. "But I haven't given up. If you could somehow lay your hands on the drug dealer in Petalburg, we could have a chance at catching her."

A smirk immediately spread across Ash's face as he exchanged a glance with Meowth. The feline Pokémon nodded slightly. "Well consider it done," Ash said, standing up.

The squint-eyed doctor was surprised by the sudden answer. "W-What do you mean it's done? I've been trying for two years to get my hands on one."

"Like I said Brock," Ash placed a reassuring arm as he stared into Brock's eyes with his cold placid ones. "Consider it done. I'll be with May by tomorrow. The day after tomorrow you'll see her."

Brock was somewhat unnerved by the reassuring hand his friend placed on him. "I-I'm not sure about this but there's one important thing though…"

"What?" Ash asked, a sense of doom prevailing in his mind.

"You were lucky with Dawn, but May's sharp," he said. "You better dye your hair."

The Pokémon Master's eyebrows joined in a frown. "Never."

* * *

**Still one day ago….**

A shiver went down Antonio's spine when he heard the voice on the cellphone. It belonged to a Meowth. No sooner did the realization hit him, his legs started to tremble, his lips quivered, and despite being in an air-conditioned room, he sweated buckets.

"M-Meowth?" The terrified man asked. "W-What do you need?"

"Just business Antonio," the feline on the other side seemed to be happy with the terror in his voice. "Just business."

Antonio knew this could easily turn into the worst day in his life. It always did. Every time when the raven-haired ghostly guy appeared with his talking Meowth and the electric cackling Pikachu he always ended in a giant bowl of a soup. "What exactly?" He asked, trying his best not to sound too committed.

"I was wondering if you have men in Petalburg," the Pokémon said.

"Why?" Antonio asked. Despite the danger of angering the Meowth, he didn't want to end up in bigger trouble by committing to do something he would regret.

"We need to talk to a customer," Meowth replied, adding some accent into his voice. "A cute brunette."

"You know I can't do that!" Antonio exclaimed. Customer privacy was one of the most important factors for running their business peacefully. It was one of his prime business ethics.

"Ah, it's okay," Meowth said ruefully, "I'm just worried you might miss that girl you're maintaining in East Unova. What was her name again? Lucy?"

Fuck you bastard, Antonio thought. "Actually," he chuckled nervously. "I do have a friend in the Metro. I'll give you his contact."

Antonio cut the line before he gave an exasperated sigh. He wished he hadn't invited that lone raven guy on the streets and offered him some _Odd _a month ago. It backfired, the guy ended up destroying half his business capital because he didn't like the smell of _Odd._ Ever since that day he began considering a new alternative business for his safety and the girlfriend waiting for him in Virbank City.

* * *

**And yet again, we are still one day ago…**

"I assume Antonio told you something," a cold voice was on the other side of the phone.

Fernando was more than troubled. A few minutes ago, he received a call from his brother in Orre, saying that a person would call him asking about a customer they needed to talk with. Antonio's request was troubling, as he had to break their family business ethic #1, never trouble the customer for smooth running of the business. He followed it every second he breathed, and was so running a good business in one of the best metropolitan cities in Hoenn.

"He did," Fernando said, "But I am afraid…."

"I assume Antonio told about me," the voice seemed like a whisper, it carried a mixture of terror in it.

Fernando rubbed his forehead, "Okay," he sighed. "There's a woman who's a regular customer of ours. But the thing is none of my men met her in person."

"And why is that?" The voice asked.

"She's cautious. She doesn't want to meet people. We trade the _Odd_ and the cash without even seeing her," Fernando replied. "Look man, we value our customer's feelings." So please leave me alone, he wanted to add.

"Good for you," the voice said, indifferent to whatever Fernando spoke. "I need you set me up as your point man. When will you have the next trade with her?"

Fernando clenched the phone in frustration. He wanted to smash the mobile into pieces. If it weren't for Antonio's pleas, he would have done so already. "Tomorrow," he muttered guiltily.

* * *

**Finally to the present…**

The Norman and Sixth was one of the busiest area of the Petalburg Metro. The roads were stuffed with people round the clock. The traffic was almost congesting, the sidewalks were always full, the office buildings were enormous and it wasn't a ridiculous claim if one would say that it was the one of the costliest areas in the entirety of Hoenn.

The main road was connected to the smaller roads coming from the Old Petalburg and the Seventh Street in a Y-Junction. The Y-Junction was a hot spot for people. Most people who work in the nearby offices take the trams or the subway arranged at the junction. It was also a center for many small time restaurants, and of course the taxis.

Watching the tens and hundreds of people walking past him by the sidewalk, a brown-haired man clad in an expensive suit stood alone, his eyes covered by black shades and a suspicious looking briefcase in his hands. He had an earphone attached, that went around his small ears, along with a microphone to speak.

"Status," he said into the microphone.

"Nothing for now," the Pokémon answered. "All clear."

Ash looked around, watching the buildings that towered over him. He saw the distant figure of Meowth standing on the top of one of the taller building, binoculars in hand.

At first Ash's plan was to simply nab May when she would come for the 'stuff' he carried. But it turned out to be that the woman was far too cautious. She normally orders the point man to drop the case at some crowded place. Once she makes sure, that no one else followed the point man she would take the case containing the 'stuff' and then she would drop the case containing cash somewhere else. The transaction heavily relied on the dealer's faith on her.

This caused the false brown-haired man to change his strategy. If his predictions were correct May would try calling him from one of the public booths around to contact him. Meowth's purpose was to use that to find out where she was and inform him. Of course that was not all to his plan, but that's the vital part.

"Find any brunettes?" Ash asked, once again.

"Tons of them," Meowth replied. "Our girl would obviously be disguised. Or at least she'd cover her hair. Did she call you yet?"

"Nope," Ash said. May's standard protocol was that she'd call randomly from one of the seventeen booths around the point. Fernando would give her the phone number of the point man, which happened to be Ash right now. "Check the booths."

"All of them covered," Meowth's voice came from the earphone. "Can't find your special girl, boss."

Ash checked his watch, the time was close to 9 30 AM. The time she gave Fernando was 9 AM. She was half an hour late. Had she discovered him or something? Why didn't she call him yet?

No sooner did Ash think so, his phone began to vibrate. The false brown-haired man checked the number on the screen. It was obviously a public phone number. He spoke into the microphone, "She's calling. Check all booths now!"

Ash took a heavy breath as he stared down at the phone in his hands. It has been seven years since he spoke to May, and to think that they would have to do so in such a weird way…

He clicked the phone and put it against his ear. "Hello."

"Why did it take so long to lift the phone?" A feminine voice spoke. Ash's heart started beating rapidly. The voice…it had matured a bit, but it was certainly May's. He knows so because her tone was similar to his mother's.

"Uh," he said, "The phone's a bit of problem, miss. Old model."

"Alright," she said, seemingly satisfied by the answer. "You seem to be a new man, where's my usual one?"

Ash frowned. So she could see him from where she spoke? That narrowed things down to five booths. Two down the way towards the Y-junction, two up the way and one that was right before him.

His eyes widened when he saw a woman inside the booth, apparently speaking to someone. Could it be May? His heart stopped momentarily.

"That's not me," she said, much to his dismay. "You don't seem to know the protocol," a growing suspicion was found in her voice. "You don't look around for me. If you do, the deal's off."

Ash inwardly gritted his teeth, but he tried his best not to show it outside. "No, no, miss. Uh, Fernando will whip me if he finds out I ruined a deal because of my curiosity."

"Then I hope, you follow protocol the next time," she said, "I'll call you again in ten minutes."

The line went off. Ash found himself staring at the phone. If there was any amount of frustration inside him, he did a good job camouflaging it. "Did you find her yet?" He muttered into the microphone. "She's somewhere close!"

"Boss," Meowth replied with a dreaded tone in his voice that caused Ash to frown. "I've been made."

"What?" Ash was startled. He looked at the building where Meowth stood, and found the feline Pokémon staring at a much taller building beside the one he positioned himself on.

Ash removed his shades and let the blue energy surge through his eyes. When his eyes scanned for what stood on the tallest building in the area, he found a blazing aura standing on the top.

_'May's Blaziken!'_ Ash realized.

He jerked his head to the right and found the two phone booths up the street empty. He turned behind and found the other two empty too.

"She's disappeared," he snarled.

"What are we gonna do?" Meowth asked, apparently in panic as he had a Blaziken giving him deadly glares to deal with.

"Jump down the building," Ash ordered. "There's a railing down that you can catch. That Blaziken's going to attack you any mom—."

As the words came out of Ash's mouth, the distant blazing aura in his vision jumped down onto the building where Meowth stood.

"Don't worry about me," Meowth said, "I'll take the escape route you told me. Find the girl."

"Of course I will," he said, shifting his attention back to his surroundings.

_'You can escape me May, but not my secret eyes.'_ Ash closed his eyes, completely shutting down his peripheral vision. Suddenly, the world around him turned into a sea of darkness ridden with blue flames of energy everywhere.

There were many kinds of energies around him, energies that moved slowly were people walking, and energies zooming past belonged to people moving in their vehicles, energies that were stationed around were people in the nearby buildings.

Of course, Ash had no way of identifying May's aura among hundreds of others, but he did have a good idea in mind. The street he was on was a business street. Ordinary people generally don't carry Pokémon on them, and Pokémon trainers have no business in Petalburg Metro. It means all he had to do was search for a couple of Pokémon auras attached onto one human aura.

His vision raced past the hundreds of aura around him as it scanned one after the other, eliminating them as his suspects. Ash's search came to an end when he spotted a fast moving aura walking towards the extremely crowed Y-Junction. A smirk spread across Ash's face. He had in fact prepared for such eventuality.

"Pikachu," he spoke into his microphone after adjusting the channel. "May's headed your way. Give a Thunderbolt strong enough to put her into unconsciousness. Okay?"

There wasn't a reply. "Buddy?" Ash asked again. Once again only silence replied him. He changed the channel once more. "Meowth," he hissed. "Pikachu isn't answering, check what he's up to."

"Just check my position before you ask something more ridiculous!" An angry voice replied to Ash in return.

When Ash saw the scene, he was dumbfounded. The Blaziken that attacked Meowth was already on the building where Meowth was. Meowth on the other hand jumped off the building and caught one of the window ledges on his way down. The Blaziken stooped below and was desperately searching for the feline Pokémon. The feline Pokémon however was smart enough to move in onto the left side of the building along the ledges.

_'Meowth's smart,'_ Ash thought. _'But he has a poor danger sense.'_

Ash's aura had already detected a new presence behind Meowth, something the feline wasn't aware of. "Meowth, 6 'o' clock, there's a Beautifly ambushing you. Use shockwave exactly after three seconds."

_'I will deal with Blaziken while I'm at it,'_ he decided. Ash enlarged a Pokéball he took from his belt. "Swellow, I choose you!" He tossed it high into the sky.

The ball burst open as the swallow Pokémon materialized with a caw. Most people who watched Ash do so, were surprised as Pokémon trainers were a rarity in the locality.

"I have wasted enough time here," he muttered. "Gotta check what Pikachu's doing."

* * *

**Meanwhile, on Pikachu's side…**

The rodent stood alone, near the Y-junction. According to Pikapi's plan, he was supposed to be zapping May in case she crossed his way. He was to use his keen sense of smell and Pikapi's aura as a guide to catch her. Or so was the intended plan but...

There were a few things that Pikapi had overlooked and that was…the fact that people won't leave a cute Pokémon standing in the crowd alone.

A boy around seven years approached Pikachu at some point, much to the rodent's annoyance. It could have zapped him, but then it would hinder Pikapi's plan. Soon the boy was joined by his grandfather, then a couple of other old men, then a few women and then suddenly an entire crowd formed around Pikachu, all pulling his cheeks as if they were sponge balls.

In short, the rodent had been decapitated.

* * *

Ash sprinted his way towards the Y-Junction, May's aura was still there, much to his sanity, but she had already crossed the point where Pikachu should be. He should somehow catch up with the brunette before she reaches the Y-Junction. Once she does, there would be a million ways for her to escape.

He pushed his way past people, who seem to have been placed only to hinder his progress. The frustration was gaining on him. As the Y-Junction approached reading her aura became more and more difficult. The junction was a myriad of auras, and concentrating his hold on one particular aura was only next to impossible. It was like asking a dog to sniff a particular scent when there were hundreds of powerful ones around. He could maintain his hold on the target, but he could also lose it so easily if his concentration slips even for the fraction of a second.

As the Y-Junction came into his vision, he spotted a great crowd surrounding a familiar aura that stood in the center. He ignored it as he couldn't afford to lose the trail.

"Pikapi!" The rodent yelled, as it seemed to be center of affection of an uncomfortable number of people.

_'Not now, buddy!' _He said to himself.

The aura he was chasing looked back; there was a tinge of surprise in her as he sensed some sort of spark in her emotions. Ash was hardly good at using the strange powers he possessed, his skills limited to identifying different types of auras. Had he trained further, he'd have been able to even register the different emotions running around a particular aura.

Ash opened his eyes for the first time, as the target was now before his eyes, trying her best to mingle with the crowd. The woman he spotted had a thin frame, that made it easy for her to move amongst the people, she wore a white shirt over jeans, she had a shawl covering her head like a hood, making it impossible for the Pokémon Master to confirm if she was the brunette he knew. He was positive that it was her, judging by the Pokéball attached to her belt, but still a visual confirmation was always welcome.

As she slipped into a large group of people heading in a particular direction, she looked back giving him a brief view of the front side of her face. The woman much to his frustration wore shades that covered her eyes, which along with the piece of cloth that she covered her hair with made it impossible for him to identify her. In fact without Aura, he'd probably never identify her.

Surprise only hit him again, when he realized she was nearing a tram that was stuffed with more people than its capacity. Ash gritted his teeth, realizing that he'd easily lose her if she were to board the public transport.

"Get out of my way!" He snarled, pushing everyone around him with all the frustration that had been welled up inside him. Seeing her pursuer gaining on her, May herself quickened her pace. She pushed herself along with a lot of others into the tram.

_'I won't let you go!_' Now that he had been challenged, Ash was more than determined to catch her. The false brown-haired man lunged in at the last moment and found his way into the extremely stuffed tram. The crowd inside was worse than he expected. There wasn't enough space even for a grain of sand. The air was suffocating and reeked with the smell of sweat. But the Pokémon Master had other issues to worry about.

As he took the back entrance, there was only one possible way she could have chosen, the front side. His deduction was proved to be correct when he saw the woman squeezing her way through the people. Ash attempted to do the same, but his physical built only proved to be a hindrance, the woman disappeared.

No, no, no! He clenched his fists, there was no way someone could outsmart him like this. He had been made a fool of. But it wasn't over yet, he thought. He closed his eyes, letting the inner eye do the work.

Except, the idea was even more terrible.

The crowd around him was so much that the bright auras of different people seemed as if they were coalesced together into one bright mass of confusion. There was no way he could work his way out of that. It was like asking to search for a needle in a haystack.

"Fuck," he muttered to himself.

* * *

**Meanwhile on Meowth's side…**

Meowth counted down the three seconds as he watched his boss toss a Pokéball into the air. The Pokémon that materialized above the main road was the swallow Pokémon Swellow. The Pokémon immediately jumped into action as it flew high up into the air.

At that moment, Meowth's three seconds were up. He closed his eyes and let the electricity inside his body charge up. Soon he was shrouded with electric charge that rushed out from the center in different directions simultaneously. The different streaks of electricity however twisted in the air and turned back to hit something behind him, all at the same time.

"B-Beau!" The cry of a Pokémon confirmed Meowth's doubt. He turned back and spotted the bug type struggling to balance itself in the air. It's beautiful colored wings were filled with static electricity thanks to the supereffective attack, Shock Wave.

As usual, the boss was awesome. He had rectified a completely disadvantageous situation within no time. A smirk spread across Meowth's face as he prepared to strike the Pokémon before him once more. The opposing Pokémon carried the same look in its eye.

The two Pokémon glared at each other, each waiting for the other to move. An absolute silence was evoked between them. It was like the calm before the storm. Either Pokémon expected some kind of mistake or the other, like the twitch of a muscle, lowering the guard or a misstep, but nothing happened until—

Meowth lunged at the butterfly Pokémon in an attempt to slash the Pokémon; it was only a suicidal Pokémon as the feline was about ten stories away from the ground. The butterfly dodged the attack with ease, the feline's attacked only moved through thin air causing the Pokémon to completely lose its balance and fall down. As if to further its chances of dismissal, Beautifly attacked Meowth with a silvery gust of storm that was Silver Wind.

Meowth twisted its body in the air so that his tail faced the ground, the tail then stiffened and glowed with a bright energy. The Pokémon landed in the dark gap between the tall buildings. The silver wind followed Meowth into the darkness. Instant later, there was a huge noise, akin to that made by a heavy iron bar when struck against granite. An explosion followed it, confirming that the Silver Wind struck the ground or Meowth.

The Beautifly lowered itself into the darkness. It halted a good distance away from the ground when the bug type spotted a couple of people gather around the center of the explosion, which was now a small sized crater. The feline was nowhere to be found.

* * *

**Meanwhile on Swellow's side…**

As soon as it materialized over the main road of Petalburg Metro's, Swellow immediately registered its target and shot for it like a missile towards the enemy base. The blazing bird-like Pokémon jumped over as Swellow passed underneath it, effectively dodging the Quick Attack.

The bird Pokémon, having missed its target took a steep turn towards the sky and then twisted in the air. An aero-dynamical energy shrouded the Pokémon as it shot towards the target one more time.

Blaziken watched as Swellow charged at it with the incredibly impossible to dodge Aerial Ace. Had it been an open battle ground, Blaziken could have easily been defeated by the attack. The 'but' here of course happens to be that it wasn't an open battle ground.

Blaziken had a whole new set of directions to dodge as it was standing over a building, moreover it could afford to throw itself from a twenty storied building and land on the ground as if it never happened. The fire type Pokémon took the chance and jumped to its right, effectively distancing itself from any aid from its accomplice, Beautifly.

Swellow had to twist itself once more as it spotted Blaziken jump onto the next building. It then shot at the Pokémon with another Quick Attack. The fire-type spotting the attack coming from behind flipped itself upside down, and using its hand as a support it performed a sweeping kick with its two long legs that were designed for the sole purpose of doing so.

The surprising move from the fighting type caught the flying type off guard and sent it toppling back towards the building. The swallow bird Pokémon regained its balance in the nick of a time, before it managed to crash into the window. The Pokémon used the glass window as its footing and propelled itself to pursue Blaziken, which by now was a good distance away from Swellow.

* * *

**Now back to Ash's side…**

Ash's bet proved to be a success. Knowing it was impossible for him to keep track of the impossible number of people in the tram, he decided to shift his focus to the exit. It could perhaps be impossible for him to identify her from a lump of other auras, but if he could focus his vision on the limited space of the entrance, at one point or the other he could catch her. In the worst case, he would roam around the whole city along with her in the tram. The crowd would only thin down at some point, a risk she couldn't afford to take.

His patience proved to be fruitful when he spotted the aura of the woman near the entrance five stops later. By the time he exited from the tram, the woman disappeared.

And yet, there wasn't a drop of disappointment in his face.

* * *

The woman who escaped the man who chased her was now pacing down the empty streets of the Achamo, a less developed area that was closer to the Old Petalburg. She took a series of complex roads; she passed through three alleys, crossed two streets, and took a final detour that would take her to the Achamo Bus Station.

She was by then confident that she had lost the man who followed her. The man whoever he was was dangerous. Despite the heavy crowd in the Y-Junction, she had a hard time losing him. He was probably a professional, perhaps a fed. If her suspicions were true, then she definitely was in a big soup. The Petalburg P.D were more complacent and easy to play with. She had spent four years, without even stepping out of the city. But if the feds were involved, then she couldn't afford to risk the same, especially if it's someone as skillful as the one who tailed her. Hence her decision to get to the bus station.

Had she been followed by an ordinary fed, she did a commendable job escaping him. But for someone who could track her down like a GPS….

As the woman took the final turn to the narrow road that took to the bus station, two enormous shadows passed past her.

The woman came to a dead stop. "Flipping Magikarp," she cursed as two large-sized Pokémon landed on both sides of her, effectively trapping her in the middle.

The first one was a gigantic fire-breathing dragon-like Pokémon. It's body was orange in color, as if to signify the flames it carried on its tail, it had enormous wings that were blue on the inside, the Pokémon let out a powerful wind strong enough to push her back with a mere flap.

Behind her was a grey Pokémon that stood on its spring like tail. It had claws that were shaped like the pincers of a Scorpion and had foldable wings that let it glide rather than fly. The Pokémon showed a strange glee as it attempted to intimidate her.

"Caught you, finally," the man in the suit was standing behind the Pokémon, his arms folded in a confident stance. Just like her, he wore black shades that covered his eyes.

"I wonder about that," she smirked.

There was a hint of surprise on the man's face when two more shadows appeared out of nowhere. "Hydropump, Ice Beam!"

* * *

Ash opened his jaws wide in shock when a Glaceon and a Blastoise leaped from the top of a nearby commodity store and launched their respective attacks.

The jet of water that shot out of the Pokémon's twin cylindrical pumps struck the fire lizard Pokémon, Charizard sending it flying away onto the shutter of a closed shop. The shutter creaked under the Pokémon's weight, combined with the heat from the Pokémon, it bent completely out of shape, trapping the pseudo dragon.

The fangscorp Pokémon Gliscor, used its hands as a cover to stop the Ice Beam, but it only proved to be a weak defense against the powerful Ice move that managed to completely freeze its wings.

A tinge of anxiety was seen in the trainer's face when both his Pokémon ended up prey to the powerful supereffective moves.

The ice Pokémon landed on its four legs proudly, sending a haughty glance at Ash. The Blastoise landed with an impact, the said Pokémon had to struggle a bit to balance itself.

The woman's eyes were invisible, but the smile on her thin lips told him volumes. She placed a hand on her hips, "Now, who won?"

"I don't know," Ash said, hiding his own smile. "Maybe my Charizard will tell," he pointed at the Pokémon that much to May's astonishment slowly got up onto its two feet. "Or better, my Gliscor." The fang scorpion thawed itself out of the ice with as much ease as tearing through thin paper. The Pokémon's golden eyes gave a glint of arrogance as it hopped back onto its tail, sending a delightful smirk at the now terrified Glaceon.

* * *

The woman's eyes weren't visible, but they were in fact wide open in shock. Not only did the Charizard stand back after taking a highly impactful Hydropump as if it were nothing, making it worse the Gliscor was back up into action after taking a quadruple weak Ice Beam from _her _Glaceon.

"Who the hell are you?" Her voice all of a sudden, turned serious.

"Just a Pokémon trainer," he spread his lips. He pointed to the briefcase in his hand, "Who happens to sell some _Odd. _I presume you were looking for these?"

***= ****_Odd_**** is an alternate version of weed, mostly made up of the leaves of an Oddish. It's higher in quality when compared to ordinary weed but also expensive and banned everywhere in the world as it endangered the species. Consuming one can be considered a criminal offense to Pokémon and could put you behind the bars for 8 to 14 years.**

**Like I said, the next chapter will take time. Keep waiting, and do send your kind reviews. They give me inspiration and energy. **


End file.
